A World Of Fragile Things
by Don't Be Such A Sour-Wolf
Summary: Ahsoka always assumed that the she was invincible; she was a Jedi, but when she becomes mixed up with some of Coruscants biggest gangsters, she sees her world come crashing down around her and her life becomes a deadly game of 'Simon says'
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I came up with this fic whilst talking with my sister, we both agreed that they never really showed you the darker bits of the war and the effects it had on others and how they cope with it, plus, seeing as though we love her so much, we decided to give Ahsoka a bit more hell. **

**This story stemmed from some dark events, just weeks before Anakin rescued the Chancellor, that we came up with and moves on from there. **

**Another thing we don't see is how Anakin's slow change effects the people around him, sure we see Obi-Wan crying about it on Mustafar but we don't really see how people view the small changes.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, at all; all characters and places mentioned belong to their respectful owners.**

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Chapter 1

Moonlight streamed steadily into the Jedi temple, permeating the darkness with its radiant glow, a brilliant white against an otherwise dark world, a point of light and reason that gave on hope for the future. The howling wind whipped through the temples corridors, woefully crying out, as if it could sense the darkness that was smothering the Galaxy, sneaking into it undetected and treacherous, the galaxy was blind to its approach. Maybe no-one would notice until it was too late.

A shadow interrupted the beautiful stream of mesmerising moonlight, a small shape that sat on the cold stone floor, leaning again the wall, head rested against the empty window frame – the glass had long since gone -you wouldn't need to ask to know it was a Jedi.

A slight sigh escape the small figures mouth, seeming to echo around the cold corridor bouncing off the walls as if to taunt the person, to remind her of her sadness. Another gale of icy wind whipped in through the many windows of the very open corridor, seeping in through the walls and floors, you couldn't escape it. Never the cold, you couldn't ever run from the cold darkness.

This part of the temple was deserted, even in waking hours; no-one ever came here anymore, it had a dark history, and as time passed the small area of the temple had deteriorated, but some may think it made it more beautiful, vines wove their way into the walls, looping intricately and blossoming beautifully with innocent white flowers that seemed to glow in the moonlight.

The stone walls had eroded slightly from weathering; holes appearing in odd places were wind rushed in as if it were racing for shelter from the harsh cold of Coruscant nights. The long corridor had a series of decorative window arches running along it, each oval shaped one missing it's glass. As if the darkness had broken them too.

The small figure sat up slightly, slowly peeking her head out of what once was a window, her eyes taking in the courtyard outside, the yellowing stone give it an antique effect and made the area seem even more beautiful, though it had been left to die. The columns had weathered and fallen apart, littered across the floor in remembrance.

People rarely came her for one sole reason, a great tragedy had struck the beautiful place, it you searched deep enough you could feel the echo of hurt; you could see the blood stains. It was a place of pain, and the figure could feel the hurt resonated out of the walls just as she could feel the cold.

She could feel death, she could feel sorrow and pain and hurt and death…by force, could she feel the death, it echoed around like a sad song, never faltering, continuing its ode to the deceased, the murdered.

There was an attack, once upon a time this small quadrant of the temple was bustling with activity and life, it was a sight to behold, many called it the 'Chamber of dreams' and it was, it really was, there once was a time where you could simply be, you could escape the war for a short time and let go of your worries, you can grasp onto your hopes for the future and dare to dream of a better time.

It was a favourite of the younglings and Padawans, the ones who suffered from the war the most, watching their dreams smashed into pieces before them, watching themselves die a little bit whenever a colleague fell. Perhaps, they liked 'Chamber of Dreams' so much because they could close their eyes and pretend to be someone else for a while, dream of another life, a normal life…without war, and death, and pain.

This was not the life for children.

They came during the Battle of Coruscant, when the protectors and strongest fighters were preoccupied, they chose to attack the defenceless, the younglings, and the found the perfect place the do it. It was such a secluded area, it was all too easy to block all the exits and execute the children gathered in the room.

What once was the 'Chamber of dreams' was now the 'chamber of nightmares', they were all imprisoned in their own safe house, the one place they thought they were safe, the once place where they could afford to let their guard down, but in the end it had betrayed them too. Was anywhere safe anymore?

Not many knew of the tragedy that struck the order that day, only of the rescue attempt for the Chancellor above Coruscant, very few knew of what happened in the temple. It struck the order deeply, they had attacked their children and brutally executed them like livestock, many of the Jedi still had bad dreams of it to this day, but only 3 weeks had passed since the incident, who wouldn't still be suffering?

The innocents were always the true victims of war.

The figure shifted slightly, bathed in the gentle moonlight, her headtails shining in its silvery glow, her blue eyes shone with sadness and worry, she tucked into herself and wrapped her frail arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees.

She had known many of the younglings that had died on that fateful day, not too long ago, how could she ever forget them? After all, once upon a time she had a best friend, the best of them all, she saw past her exceptional skills and didn't hold them against her like all the others did, she valued her for more than her ability as a Jedi. She could've done so much given the chance, she had the biggest heart in the order, she was always there for everyone, making it her priority to be the pillar of support for the entire order.

Who was there for her when she felt hopeless? Who was there to hold her hand when they tortured her? Did she have a shoulder to cry on when she watched her friend slaughtered? No, of course no, they showed them no compassion, no sympathy, they laughed when then tortured them, cackled when they cried. Her friend was there for everyone else but in the end no-one was there for her.

Ahsoka knew, she'd seen the security recordings, she knew.

Of course she wasn't supposed to know, her Master would have a field day if he ever found out she'd sliced the system and got into the security databanks, she knew that they'd kept the recordings from the younglings to protect them but she had to see, she needed to…she had to know what her friend – her sister in all but blood – went through.

She wished she hadn't seen it, the blood, the screams, the crying…it haunted her to this very day, when she had first seen the recording, about half an hour ago, she had vomited, it was sickening. She had never seen her friend cry before, let alone scream, but she had, she'd screamed and pleaded, she'd even begged for death when the pain became unbearable, they gave it to her eventually, but not before they tortured her to insanity.

They'd done everything to her, they'd spilt her blood, they'd burnt her flesh, raped her. It had sickened Ahsoka, it almost made her lose hope, how could they possibly bring peace to the Galaxy when they had mobs like that stalking the streets.

Who were they? No-one really knew, they weren't Separatist – that wasn't even there style, at least they had some morals – these were gangsters, people who loved evil and crime, who lived for pain and hatred. Cruel couldn't even begin to describe the sick minds behind this attack, they were monsters, no…they were even worse, they were the things that hid underneath monsters bed, they were the worst sort of evil, they ones who did it for fun.

No-one spoke of the events; it was still a very sore subject, haunting the back of the Jedi's minds, weighing down their very souls. Particularly the ones who had seen the recordings - her Master was one of them. She remembered the day he came back to their quarters after watching the recording with the rest of the council, she'd never seen him so dejected, so horrified. He was so pale. He had taken one look at her and had almost broken down - perhaps he realised how easily she could've been amongst the long list of dead mutilated children – he'd collapsed into the couch and beckoned for her to join him, wrapping his arms around her when she did, as if he feared he'd lose her if he let go.

That was the first time she'd ever seen him lose control of his emotions like that, the first time she had ever seen him so scared, nothing ever shook his, he always remained strong, she knew he did it for her, but the massacre had hit him hard. It had made him realise the one place he thought would be safe – the Jedi temple - wasn't…and his Padawan spent all her time there.

She knew he regretted leaving her behind, she'd been deployed with him to the outer rim sieges but her Master had sent her back to the temple after a few weeks, when things started to get really ugly and the death toll began to start piling up, deeming it too dangerous for her. Obviously, the temple wasn't any better, within a week of her being back it had being attacked and it was only luck that kept her from being on the list of the dead, she usually spent all her time in the courtyard down in the 'Chamber of Dreams.'

From that point, her Master seemed to come to the oh-so-great epiphany that the only way she'd be safe was if he kept her with him, he didn't hover too much but he did insist on her accompanying him on even the smallest missions, it wasn't too suffocating for her to cope with but she had to admit she did feel a bit smothered.

Ahsoka sighed, she had lost her oldest friend in the attack, she was still a youngling – although they were the same age – she had no Master to protect her, it was supposed to be her job. She was strongly that her friend, she should've been there to protect her because nobody else would.

"I'm so sorry Blissany, forgive me for not saving you." Ahsoka whispered to the wind, hoping that maybe her friend would hear her cry for forgiveness.

The wind howled back in reply, a chilly cry of pain; it too knew of what had happened in this desolate place, it too dwelled in the horrible memory of the pain and suffering this courtyard held.

"Snips." There was a familiar voice. "What the hell are you doing here? It's not safe."

Her Master was next to her in almost a second, crouching down beside her as he regarded her with angry eyes, ones which morphed into concern when he saw her face – sad didn't even scrape the ice – he put a hand on her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture, he'd never really been very good at reassuring people.

"It's alright." Anakin could feel her sadness rolling off her in waves.

"No it's not." She replied hoarsely. "They killed them, Master. What did they ever do?"

"They had done nothing, there were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Anakin's words tasted bitter in his mouth, he knew it was selfish but he couldn't help but feel grateful that his Padawan was in the library for the whole of the attack, far away from it.

"She was all alone, she was in so much pain and I wasn't there for her."

"They killed them quickly." Anakin's lie left a funny taste in his mouth, but they all had unanimously agreed to not inform the others of the torture the younglings had gone through, the deaths were hard enough for the children to handle without them knowing of their friends suffering as well.

"Liar." Came Ahsoka's sharp, yet quiet, accusation.

"What do you mean?" Anakin pried further, his eyes hard as her search the blue depths on the young girls. She hadn't watched their recording, had she? No, Anakin pushed that thought from his mind, he'd explicitly instructed her not to, she wouldn't disobey him like that.

"I know, Master, I saw the recordings." She admitted, her voice choked with unshed tears and sobs held back by her pride. "I know."

Of course she would disobey him, him ordering her not to pry into the whole situation would've just made her curious which would've been incentive enough for her to do the complete opposite of his orders. He should've foreseen this.

"I thought I told you not to look into this." Anakin grabbed her upper arm, and leaned into her face. "Do you think I just like to hear myself speak? I gave you those orders for a reason, I've seen the recordings, I told you to trust my judgement and you go behind my back."

"I know." Ahsoka gulped slightly, her voice rising a few octaves as she became more distressed, it took a frantic panicky tone to it as she began to explain herself. "I just…I wanted to know what happened and I went snooping and then I found the security clips and when I started watching I couldn't bring myself to stop. It was so awful, Master."

"I know, that's why I was trying to protect you from it." Anakin sighed and let go of his strong grip on her arm. "You're too young."

Anakin stood up, his eyes sorrowful, he should've explained his reasoning to her, maybe that would've kept her away, he should've known his instruction would've only fuelled her curiosity.

"Come on, that floor is freezing, you're gonna get sick." Anakin held out his hand to help her up.

Ahsoka took his hand gratefully, allowing him to pull her to her feet, catching her when her shaky legs collapsed underneath her.

"I'm okay." She pushed herself out of his grasp. "I'm okay."

"Alright, time for bed, I think." Anakin regarded the young girl. "We're going out on a mission tomorrow and we both need to be rested."

"A mission?" Ahsoka whined slightly. "Already?"

"It's local, we're going down to the undercity, apparently there's been some Separatist activity there. We need our rest to be alert"

"I don't want to sleep." Ahsoka's voice was, once again, frantic. "I just can't…I can't."

"Shhh." Anakin quietened her. "Stop working yourself up, I'll help you find a dreamless sleep."

Ahsoka looked at him with doubtful eyes for a few moments before bowing her head and letting out a quiet sigh, which Anakin took as acceptance, so he put a hand on her shoulder and steered her back to their shared quarters.

**AN: I won't be able to update this as often as I'd like, I'm afraid that weekly is the best you'll get. Sorry, please review. Btw, for those of you who have read 'warnings and fears', should I bring back Alex?**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

All was quiet in the temple as it slumbered deeply, the world was silent and peaceful for a while as the inhabitants slept, the worries of the war being the last things on their minds, replaced by hopes and dreams. Yes, all was tranquil and quiet; the blissful silence permeated every room, every room except one.

"No." Ahsoka whimpered as she tossed and turned on her bed. "Leave her alone, leave her…Blissany."

Ahsoka whimpered and let out quiet sobs of despair as she once again watched her friend's bloody end, the memory of it haunting her, never letting her have her peace.

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_Shrieks of laughter filled the beautiful courtyard, chattering children sat in small groups, smiling and enjoying the gentle sunshine. Their joyful childhood innocence seemed to have an uplifting effect on everyone around them, the war didn't matter to them, it all seemed so far away, their beautiful purity was untainted and shone out from them like the light from stars, they were the pictures of hope and joy._

_Perhaps that was why they were so fond of the 'Chamber of Dreams.'_

_The columns stood proud and tall, intricately decorated with wonderful architecture and they seemed to pulsate with life, the trees waved in the gentle breeze, dancing along with the happy younglings, rejoicing for this time of peace, this beautiful time were the war was at the back of their minds._

_A drop of rain bounced off the floor, the drip could almost be heard by the younglings, and then it was followed by more, the pitter patter making up a rhythm of gentle bliss. They were dancing in the rain, playing and dancing in the rain, like children should be. The brilliant rain soaked them, but they didn't care, they continued on with their games and fun, nothing mattered to them._

_Then it turned cold and they came out of the waterfall of rain, eyes hard and faces blank, everything went quiet as the strangers approached the children._

_There were so many._

"_Excuse me, Mister." A young girl with flowing platinum blonde hair stepped forwards. "But, who are you?"_

_The man at the forefront of the group only smiled, and it made the girl's blood run cold, how could a smile be so cold? The young girl stepped back, her eyes flashing in fear as she regarded the hungry expression on the man's face._

"_Hello, gorgeous." The man stepped towards the congregation of younglings and Padawans. "Do we have a name?"_

_The girl puffed out her chest slightly, she had to be strong, she was 15, she was the oldest. She had to be strong for the younglings. "Blissany."_

"_Such a pretty name for a pretty girl." The man cackled and Blissany's heart stopped, somehow she knew, deep within her, that these breath she was taking would be some of her last, these thoughts she was thinking would be some of her last for soon, she would be in too much pain to think._

_The man lunged forwards, his hands outstretched for the young girl, and a glint of hunger seemed to flash in his eyes. _

_One youngling unsheathed his lightsaber, igniting it and leaping forwards boldly. The man had a blaster out in a second, within a heartbeat, the boy was on the floor, a bolt through his chest and another between his eyes, at least he got to die quickly, the same couldn't be said for his comrades._

"_Does anyone else want to try?" The man held up his gun and waved it a little, smirking over-confidently._

_No-one moved._

"_Good." The man grabbed Blissany's hair, dragging her forwards, away from comfort of the group of Padawan's._

"_Hello, my lovely." The man ran a hand down the girl's cheek."How about we get better acquainted?"_

"_Go to hell." Blissany spat at the man, scowling darkly at him._

_It didn't disturb him, not in the slightest; it only seemed to amuse him, fuelling his burning desire. He swung out at her suddenly, backhanding her cheek, and sending her sprawling to the hard floor, her wrist twisting painfully when she attempted to catch herself._

"_Now, now, that was rude." The man walked over to the girl, before crouching down, one leg on either side of her, pinning her down._

"_Let me go." She snapped, struggling against his hold but his legs keep her pinned. "Let me go!"_

_The man unsheathed a knife from his belt, admiring the sharp blade and beautiful design on the handle. "This is my favourite." He whispered to the teen, holding the knife over her chest._

_Then she screamed._

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"Ahsoka." Anakin grabbed onto the thrashing child's arms, keeping her from giving him a black eye. "Snips, you gotta wake up."

Ahsoka seemed to far trapped in her nightmare to hear her Master's stricken pleas, she was trapped in a dark place, a place where she watched her closest friend tortured to insanity, her mind slowly destroyed with her body, it was a fate she would bestow upon no-one.

"Snips, please…come on." Anakin shook the girl a little. "Snap out of it, you're safe. Snips!"

Ahsoka shot up almost instantly, nearly knocking her Master out from the quick movement, she breathed heavily for a few seconds, eyes rolling around in her head before she crashed back onto her pillow, her breaths becoming shorter and sharper.

"Shhh." Anakin put a hand on her forehead, wincing when he felt her sweat covered brow, if he didn't calm her she'd go into shock. "It's alright, Snips, it's alright."

It wasn't alright, they both knew that, but it's the best Anakin could offer, he was never particularly good at understanding, heck, he was still learning how to overcome his own feelings, how could he possibly help Ahsoka with hers?

"Ahsoka, come on, wake up." Anakin's attempts to calm to girl seemed to work and he watched in relief as her blue eyes opened slowly. "Hey."

"Hey." Ahsoka muttered in reply, a sad smile gracing her pale, sweat-covered face. "I saw her."

Anakin didn't know what to say so instead he decided to keep quiet, sitting there slightly awkwardly, he wasn't very good at this, he could take down armies, he could engineer mechanical miracles but comforting a crying girl? No, he wasn't very good at that, he'd never been particularly good with children; it was quite pathetic, especially since his inability with younglings stemmed to his own Padawan. He knew the council were making a mistake giving her to him; she was in for a rough childhood, especially since she had such dysfunctional Master.

Anakin kept a straight face, regarding his Padawan quietly, she was still so little, sure she had grown since she'd been assigned to him but she was still just a kid, a kid that couldn't cope, the war was tearing lives up, destroying people, particularly the children.

Innocence was always the first thing slaughtered in war.

"You're not even affected by this." Ahsoka accused. "You're just sat there, so many people died and it doesn't seem to faze you at all."

"Snips, you know that isn't true." Anakin said tiredly, running his flesh hand through his hair. "I just…I can control my emotions a little better; it wasn't so personal for me. I didn't know most of them."

"So, because you didn't know them, it's alright?" Ahsoka glared at the man, her eyes flashing. "As long as it's not someone you know, you're fine with it."

"I never said that."

"You didn't have too, you…you…chakaar." Ahsoka's eyes widened to the size of saucers when she remembered to whom she was talking to, this wasn't a little argument with Rex, this was her Master, her superior in every way.

"It's fine." Anakin put his hand up to stop the girl from spilling out apologies. "I deserve that, and you're right…though I'm not quite so heartless as you put it."

"Enlighten me." Came Ahsoka's snarky reply

"Snips, you should know by now that not everything is as black and white as it seems, I'll admit that I can be selfish. I'm not saying it wasn't hard, watching that recording, it's horrific what happened to them but I can't help but feel relieved that it wasn't you."

Anakin looked at Ahsoka for few seconds, judging her facial expression, seeing if it was safe to continue, Ahsoka was, well…so _Ahsoka_, she was quick to judge and could be harsh sometimes, he didn't want to upset her by not being careful with what he said. He still had the bruises from the last time he did that, hot-headed little brat.

"When I got back to the temple and they told me of the attack, when they told me it was an attack on younglings, I insisted on finding out more, so Obi-Wan showed me the list of the youngling's murdered and I'm not ashamed to say that the first thing I did was scan through it and all the while I prayed to the force that I didn't see your name, and maybe it's selfish, but your death would've hit me a lot harder than the death of a youngling I never knew."

"You're not supposed to have attachments, Master." Ahsoka whispered.

"How can I help it?" Anakin asked, a small amount of irritation creeping into his voice. "You tell me, Ahsoka, because if you have any suggestions I'm all ears."

"Don't ask me." Ahsoka snapped back. "I'm just a Padawan, I don't have any answers."

Silence fell upon them for a few minutes; the anger that had slowly snuck upon them was slowly ebbing away, leaving them with clearer heads and calmer minds.

"I'm sorry." Anakin was the first to apologise.

Ahsoka looked away stubbornly, folding her arms over her chest and lifting her chin ever-so-slightly, to let him know of her irritation, in case he hadn't noticed already, seconds later she sighed huffily, letting out some of her irritation with the short breath.

"I'd like to go back to sleep now, would you please go?" Ahsoka said stiffly, looking at her bed sheets, avoiding looking at her dejectedly Master.

Anakin nodded slightly, squeezing her shoulder slightly in want he hoped was a reassuring gesture, something that told her he was there for her, no matter what - but he doubted she got all that. Then he respected her wishes, and left the room.

Anakin had to say, Ahsoka throwing him out like that - wanting him gone - hurt a bit, he couldn't blame the girl, she was stuck with an absolutely appalling Master, if he were her he would've left by now. It was his own fault she didn't want him around, he was failing at being a Master...spectacularly so.

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Anakin collapsed down onto his own bed, putting his hands on his forehead and exhaling, he wished he could help Ahsoka, but he didn't even know where to start and Ahsoka was suffering because of his lack of any children skills whatsoever. How did Obi-Wan do this? He was a bloody miracle worker to say the least; honestly, one would've thought that after spending pretty much all your time with that man for the best of 10 years a little bit of his patience, sympathy and general adolescent skills would've rubbed off on him…apparently not.

This was hopeless.

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**AN: Sorry this took longer than expected, everythings been hectic at the moment. My sister ended up getting really sick so I've been focused on her for most of the week. Sorry...again.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Sorry for the wait**

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Chapter 3

Ahsoka balled her fists tightly, turning the inside of her palms white, and she glared at the wall, she didn't want to be going on this mission, not at all. It had only been three weeks since the massacre; the council couldn't seriously think she was ready to go back into the field yet. This was far too soon.

Anakin sat opposite the young teen, watching her discreetly, she wasn't coping well. He could see it in her eyes, in her every movement, she was hurting. He knew what it was like to lose someone close to you, it never gets any easier, it seems to haunt you wherever you go, he had naively hoped his Padawan would never feel what it is to lose someone close – your family - after all the girls were practically sisters.

Anakin turned slightly, watching as his Padawan stared out the viewport, watching hyperspace fly past in its usual dazzling manner, her eyes unusually shiny and her head bowed ever so slightly, as if that fire of hope, that burning flicker of light within her had been extinguished. As if she had given up. He watched her fight with her emotions in silence, watched quietly when her lips began to tremble from the sobs waiting to burst out of her, when she was thrown back into the realm of her own memories.

But she didn't cry, not one tear escaped her eyes, nor did a sob escape her mouth. He commended her strength but when would she ever realised that she didn't have to be so strong all the time, that her pride was unnecessary when it was just her and him, he'd never judge her for her emotions and definitely not for crying and he couldn't quiet describe how it - knowing she didn't trust him - felt but he could say it felt like a weight on his heart.

When had things gotten this bad between them? What had happened to the trust they'd both had in each other? Everything in their lives was the same as it was just last year, the same ships, the same war, the same temple; it was just the people who had changed. He wished they hadn't, he wished _she_ hadn't, maybe that was his fault, for not protecting her from all the horrors of the war. Perhaps she wouldn't be so mistrustful then, maybe her innocence wouldn't be as tainted.

"Snips, are you alright?" Anakin asked, tilting his head slightly to try and see her face.

"Fine." Came her quiet reply.

Then they lapsed into yet another long silence, Anakin usually preferred the silence but not now, not when it was so strained. He could almost feel the tension in the air, it was almost unbearable, since when did she get so quiet?

Anakin looked over to the teen, his eyes running over her, she'd changed a lot since their first meeting, she wasn't the scrawny little Padawan he'd been given on Christophsis anymore. She'd blossomed into a beautiful young lady to his dismay - everyone had noticed - particularly the clones who rarely got chance to see any other women than her, he'd already had to speak to – meaning threaten – some of his own men for some of the inappropriate comments he had heard passing by.

Ahsoka looked over to him, noticing his staring, and levelled him with a cool glare. The one that made him shiver a little and made the entire room seem colder. She wasn't quite as good as that glare as Padme, that woman had it perfected, but she still could scare him. Anakin sighed. He hated when things were rough between him and Ahsoka, it always made him feel guilty, even if he wasn't the one at fault.

"I know how you feel." If sharing his experiences, letting Ahsoka know she wasn't alone, was how he was going to reach out to her, then so be it, he'd do anything to have his bubbly playful Padawan back. "A few years ago, I had terrible dreams, visions, I saw my mother in pain…I told Obi-Wan but he told me they'd pass so I followed his advice but they got worse."

Anakin nearly smiled when he saw Ahsoka turn slightly to face him, her curiosity captured by the tales of his past, the yet another thing he'd gone out of his way to keep from her.

"I was assigned to protect Senator Amidala…" Anakin paused for a second, thinking off how to exclude all the more sensitive details. "…I woke up one night from a terrible dream, and decided I needed to go find her, Padme insisted on accompanying me. When I got to Tatooine I traced my mother to a small moisture farm but, true to my visions, she was missing, she had been taken by Tusken Raiders. I went to find her…and I did, but she died in my arms."

Anakin stood and knelt in front of the young Togruta, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I know how you feel, Snips, don't push me away."

"What am I supposed to say, Master?" Ahsoka looked away from his gaze.

"Anything." Anakin attempted to regain her eye contact. "That's better than moping to yourself."

Ahsoka opened her mouth slightly, a defiant and insulted look on her face, before closing it and appearing to rethink her words, she closed her eyes and exhaled before opening her eyes, still shying from her Master's attempts to get her to look at him.

"I miss her…how do I stop missing her?" Ahsoka asked quietly

"You don't." Anakin ran a hand through his hair. "You never do, but eventually you learn to put it behind you, you have to leave it all behind or it will consume you. Do you think Blissany would like it if you lost yourself because of her death?"

"She's dead; we don't know what she'd want."

Anakin gently grabbed a hold of her chin, forcing her to look at him, before speaking again, "She's not truly gone; a part of her will always be with you and you can honour her by staying true to yourself and moving on."

"I should've been with her." Ahsoka mumbled. "I could've helped, I could've saved her."

"Look at me." Anakin ducked his head a little in attempt to meet her averted eyes. "Hey, look at me." Only when she did, did Anakin speak again. "There was nothing you could've done, had you been there, you would've been killed too."

"At least she wouldn't die alone." Came Ahsoka's quiet reply

"Don't talk like that, Snips." Anakin scolded lightly. "We need you here_. I_ need you here"

Ahsoka shrugged a little, her eyes still downcast but Anakin could swear that fire, the one that once burned so bright in her eyes – the one that had completely disappeared these past few weeks - had started burning again. Maybe he was a bit better at this then he gave himself credit for, he was no Obi-Wan – he was nowhere near that good – but maybe, just maybe they would both get through this alive.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Seeing Ahsoka was about to protest, Anakin cut her off before she had chance. "I'll be right here, you'll be fine."

* * *

Anakin slouched back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest and exhaling deeply, shaking his head a little to get his hair from out of his face. He was tired; they all were. This war seemed to drag on and no-one could yet see out the other side of it, it just seemed so hopelessly endless.

It was worse for Ahsoka.

It was alright for him, he had grown up in a time of relative peace, he'd never been thrust into a massive galactic war whilst he was a young Padawan, he'd never had to wonder if he would die in the next mission or who he would lose in the next battle. He'd never had to wonder when his time would run out, but she had, he could see it in her eyes. She didn't fear death, she was too much of a Jedi for that, but he believed she feared upsetting those around her, she always went out of her way to impress and help, he knew it would break her heart for her death to strike deeply.

And the worst part was that she knew it would, she knew he would struggle to deal with her death, that is if he even was able to cope at all, she knew that were she ever to die it would cut him deeply and he could see she hated herself for that, the one thing she couldn't control – the people who cared about her – and she hated that, one day, she might hurt them.

He looked over to the sleeping girl, her brow furrowed and body tense, as if she was expecting an attack. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair on him, he had to try and take care of her in this massive war and keep her safe so that she could live to see tomorrow, it was an almost impossible duty. But, more importantly, it was certainly not fair on her, she'd been dumped in the deep end because of him, he was always on the frontlines and she was forced to follow him, putting her life at risk before it had really begun.

Ahsoka stirred slightly, her brow creasing even more, no doubt because of the bouts of unpleasant dreams that seem to stalk her as if it were a new hobby.

"Anakin." Obi-Wan walked out of the cockpit. "We've landed, this is where we must split up, I need to rendezvous with Master Windu back at the temple."

"Okay." Anakin stood slowly, stretching out his back.

"You do need to take her with you." Obi-Wan gestured, with a small smile, to the sleeping teen. "I doubt she'd take kindly to being left behind."

"Yeah, I don't wanna wake her." Anakin crouched next to the troubled Togruta. "She hasn't slept in weeks."

Anakin put a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder and gently shook, "Snips." She was warm to the touch, the lack of sleep combined with the little food she ate was contributing to her deteriorating health, she was going to get sick. "Come on, time to get up."

* * *

_Birds chirped happily as sunshine spilled down onto the grateful surface of Coruscant, it was a glorious day, the best they'd had in quite almost an entire quarter; months upon months of rain did become rather repetitive after a while._

_The Amanzi Gardens, one of the last masses of flora untouched by man on Coruscant, was a sight to behold. The long, tickling grass stretched on for a little over a kilometre, with fauna and foliage sprouting up through the flourishing grass. A gushing river flowed through the grassy plain, trickling and laughing as it bounced over the rocky water bed before tipping off the edge of the garden square, falling into tube so it could be pumped back to the start and stream through the gardens again. It was artificial but that did not taint its beauty._

_The gardens were a favourite of civilians and Jedi alike, the aura of the beautiful plain soothed and provided comforted to all. The Jedi had plenty of gardens within the temple but, nevertheless, this public garden a little south of the temple attracted plenty of the Jedi. Perhaps because they were no longer in the temple and were free to be more than just Jedi, they could be people._

_A young Togruta lazed about peacefully in the lush grass, in the shade of a large tree with beautiful leaves, all different blends of pinks and oranges; this place was so magical to her. It made her feel free; the abundance of flora seemed to breathe alongside her, its rhythmic ballade of life moving alongside everything surrounding it, waving in the wind._

_It truly was beautiful and could rival the magical atmosphere in the 'Chamber of Dreams.'_

"_Hey, 'Soka." A young girl with platinum blonde hair came and sat next to the lounging Togruta. "It's a gorgeous day, yeah?"_

"_Definitely." Ahsoka rolled onto her back, reclining on her elbows. "I've missed the sun."_

"_Me too."_

"_You're not even supposed to be here." Ahsoka raised her eyebrows slightly. "You've not been chosen as a Padawan yet, and younglings aren't allowed out of the temple…not until selected to be a Padawan and even then, you have to get express permission from your Master."_

"_Which I'm sure you did." Came Blissany's taunting reply._

"_Well…" Ahsoka backpedalled and took on a defensive tone. "…I can never find him, it's his own fault."_

"_I love how you automatically come to that conclusion, is blaming your Master an innate conditioned response now?" Blissany pulled out a handful of grass and began to play with the soft blades, pulling them apart in her hands_

"_It's either him or you, it's always one of you that's to blame." Ahsoka lightly pushed her friend. "And stop tearing up the grass, there isn't much of it on this planet."_

"_Yes, mum."Blissany threw the blades into the air, watching the wind sweep them away. "So, I hear you have a new mission."_

"_Yeah, me and my Master are shipping out to the Outer rim tomorrow, we've been assigned to help with the sieges." Ahsoka sat up and crossed her legs underneath her. "I can't wait to kick some droid ass."_

"_I can't wait to get a Master so I can join you." Blissany balled her fists in excitement, "We can be like 'wham', 'pow', 'boom', they won't know what hit them."_

"_We'll be the ultimate team." Ahsoka agreed cheerfully. "I hear that Knight Forrest has been watching you, my Master tells me he's thinking about taking you as a Padawan. Don't tell anyone I told you."_

"_I thought Knight Forrest didn't ever want a Padawan." Blissany asked curiously, running her hands through her mass of long wavy hair._

"_Neither did my Master and look at us now." Ahsoka posed slightly before letting out a loud laugh._

"_Master Yoda assigned you to him, Skywalker didn't get much of a say."_

_Ahsoka stuck her tongue out when her friend batted her argument away effortlessly, before shrugging her shoulders and smirking. "Well then, Forrest must like you quite a bit if he's changed his view of Padawan's because of you." Ahsoka poked her friend. "It's your big heart."_

_Blissany only chuckled in reply, flinging her hair back when the wind tousled it. Ahsoka's eyes widened as the young girl began to fade, in fact, the whole vision began to fade. She could hear a familiar voice as the memory around her faded to black, but she couldn't quite pinpoint who it was._

"_Blissany." Ahsoka watched her friend fade with the world around her. "Don't go!"_

"_Ahsoka, what's happening to me." Blissany's quiet voice replied back. "I'm disappearing, everything's going. Where am I going?"_

"_Hold on." Ahsoka desperately tried to hold onto her friend, to keep her with her but it didn't matter. "It's not real, it's all just a memory."_

"_I'm not real?" Came Blissany's soft, yet sad, tone._

"_No!" Ahsoka watched as her hands went straight through her friend. "You are real…you are so real."_

"_Help me, I don't wanna go."_

_Then she was gone and the entire world around the Togruta faded to blackness, the trees were gone, the gardens were gone, that entire memory was gone. It was been snatched from her just like her friend had, she remember that time, that day in the gardens. Eventually, they had both left, Blissany had gotten into trouble for leaving the grounds and she for not seeking her Master's permission but it had been worth it. That was a perfect day._

"_Come on, time to get up." There was the voice again_

_That was her Master, and with that thought at the forefront of her mind, the young Togruta when surging back to consciousness, returning to the real world, albeit unwillingly._

_

* * *

_

Ahsoka's bleary eyes blinked opened groggily, slightly disorientated and confused as she tried to recall where she was, she met her Master's gaze and nodded slightly before nestling her head back in the crook of her arm, making a gurgled groaning noise which sounded suspiciously like a stream of curses.

"That's not getting up, Snips." Anakin chuckled a little. "Come on, we're here."

"Okay, okay." Came her hoarse whisper. "I'm getting up."

And to prove testament to this, the young Togruta forced herself to sit up, waiting a few moments when a bout of vertigo hit her from the sudden change in position, her hands went of their own accord to massage her aching head before she rose shakily to her feet.

"You alright?" Anakin queried, scowling at the unsteady teen.

"Fine." Ahsoka walked past her Master, refusing to meet his gaze, before heading down the landing ramp, her mind a haze of sleep-deprived mush.

* * *

**AN: Please review, it'll motivate me to write the next chapter quicker!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The two Jedi walked calmly through the clutters of people in the hustle and bustle of the metropolis that was Coruscant's undercity. The night was young and the ever alive underworld was busy and filled with activity, this is where people never sleep. They were too busy robbing you blind.

Ahsoka tried to tune out the buzzing of the swarming people, fluttering around her like flies as she attempted to push through the thick crowd to keep up with her Master, their excessive animated movements and chatter suffocating her and clouding around her like a giant swarm. Their humming and babble moving in rhythm with her pounding head, until it all melded into one and became a drawn out throb of beastly pain.

Ahsoka stopped for a second, blinking several times to clear her fuzzy vision before hurrying after her Master.

"We've been walking for hours." She mumbled when she caught up to her Master.

Anakin said nothing in reply, keeping his troubled eyes directly ahead as he searched out any danger or threats, Ahsoka scowled at him slightly, infuriated by his unresponsiveness, before pressing on, this was useless, if the Jedi insisted they help in the war effort – even though she was _not_ ready to get back in the war yet – then they could at least assign them a decent mission, as opposed to this rubbish.

"We haven't found anything." Ahsoka insisted again. "This is a waste of time."

Ahsoka could've sworn she saw her Master's eye flash a little but she put it down to the flashing neon signs and bright lights that glowed all brilliantly alongside the pathway, she let out a small sigh before falling silent again. Her silence didn't last for long, her impatience won over within moments.

"When will you see there's nothing down here?"

Anakin grabbed Ahsoka's arm and pulled her over to a small alcove, fairly hidden from the general public walking along the streets. Ahsoka pulled herself out of his grasp, rubbing her arm a little where his fingers had dug in.

"Ahsoka," Anakin pointed a scolding finger at the girl. "You have to calm down, you've been nothing but grumpy since we got here and frankly it's getting a little tiring. You're upset, I get it, you're tired and sad and angry but you need to put that aside, your feelings cannot interfere with the mission."

"You're such a hypocrite," Ahsoka bit back; "You're frequently moody or sullen."

"Do I ever let it interfere with the mission?" Check.

Ahsoka frowned slightly before huffing out a short aggravated breath. "No, but…you're a Jedi Knight, Master, you're supposed to be better at controlling emotions than me."

"I wasn't raised from a young age by the Jedi; I started at 9 years old."

Ahsoka bit her lips before sighing and conceding defeat, bowing her head slightly and folded her arms over her chest. Checkmate. Anakin couldn't help but grin a little, his little Padawan reminded him so much of himself at that age.

"Fair point." Ahsoka flicked a headtail over her shoulder, seemingly irritated by its proximity to her face.

"I understand, Snips, I really do but I need you focused." Anakin put a hand on her shoulder, crouching slightly to be at eye-level. "Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah," Ahsoka conceded, before bowing her head a little. "I'm sorry."

"I don't blame you, Snips." Anakin ran a hand through his hair out of habit. "For the record, I also think this is too soon for you but I can't defy the council, the fact that I'm still breathing has me on thin ice with them."

"You're being dramatic." Ahsoka insisted. "I'm sure the council value you…in their own special way."

"Really? That must be why Master Windu has that _lovely _glare he saves especially for me." Anakin walked back out into the crowds of people. "Come on then, Moody."

"I am not."

"Maybe that should be your new nickname." Anakin speculated. "Moody Tano."

"Go away."

The two continued their never-ending patrolling through the slums of the Coruscant Undercity, not quite sure what they were supposed to be looking for but they did their job nonetheless, keeping their eyes peeled for any Separatist activity, or any activity that required there intervention.

Ahsoka sidestepped a drunken fool who was babbling on about some conspiracy, she'd heard quite a few theories in her time but the idea that the Chancellor was teaming up with the clones to take over was laughable, everyone knew the clones were trustworthy, the Chancellor…err...well...not so much.

Ahsoka didn't like him, he was a sleazy sly old man who treated people like they were his own little puppets, using them to further his own agenda. Her Master loved him though, if she had to go to another one of their little gossip sessions she'd puke. Seeing them together made Ahsoka question both of their sexualities.

Anakin quickly pulled the young Togruta out of the path of vomit, coming from an appallingly drunk woman, who too staggered about and chattered to herself, tripping over anything that crossed her path. Classy. Ahsoka gave her Master a grateful smile, sparing a glance for the odd blue coloured vomit. Now that was not right.

"The wonders of alcohol." Anakin remarked as he observed the woman fall over once again. "Best just stay away from the stuff."

"Is that your honest opinion or are you just saying that because you don't want me passing out in a gutter?" Ahsoka raised her eye markings knowingly.

"The latter, of course, we don't need you dirtying up the gutters too." Came Anakin's teasing remark "Can't blame me for caring."

"I've never felt more loved." Ahsoka responded with a smirk before putting her hands on her hips. "Those gutters would be grateful; having me camp out with them would definitely be an improvement!"

"In what universe?" Anakin dodged Ahsoka's kick before glaring playfully at her. "Hey!"

"Sorry, foot slipped."

Ahsoka stopped for a second, unnoticed by her Master – who kept moving, she followed her instincts and slowly turned around, her eyes searching out the disturbance in the force she had just sensed.

There.

A flash of anger ran through the Togruta's blood, igniting her veins and powering her, that was him, that was the man from the security recording, the one who had invaded the temple, the one who had killed Blissany. He was leering at her with that same animalistic look he had given her friend, his eyes looking up and down her hungrily; he was the worst kind of monster.

"Ahsoka?" She heard her Master call out but she was only looking at that man, that monster. She knew that her Master must have followed her gaze and seen the man for a second later, he shouted out. "NO!"

Ahsoka ignored her Master, her fury acting like an untampered sea, thrashing and whipping against anything that it came into contact with. Then all hell broke loose, her legs moved of her own accord, sprinting after the monster, she would avenge her friend. Nothing else matter, she was no longer Ahsoka Tano the Jedi, she was Ahsoka Tano the predator and he was the prey.

Her heart pounded in time with her feet, adrenaline pumping through her like oil to an engine, fuelling her forwards with speed she never knew she had. She had never hated so much in her life, she had never hated in her life at all, but him…he unleashed the predator within her; he awoke those demons that were strapped away in chains.

She collided with him, sending him sprawling to the ground, then she was on top of him, laying punches on his face, ignoring his yells of pain, ignoring his cries because he ignored her, he ignored Blissany's. She let go of her conscious mind, letting the best within take a hold, that fury of unrestrained anger.

"She was my friend!" Ahsoka screamed at the man.

"Get off me you crazy bitch." The man threw the girl off of him, sending her crashing into the wall of the alley.

Ahsoka hit her head on the wall, she could practically feel the blood vessels and veins bursting on impact, she could feel the blood streaming down, she could smell it. She let out a quiet moan of pain as her world span, she'd hit her headtails, the worst thing had happened and she was temporarily paralysed by the lack of function in her precious lekku.

"You should've stayed with your guardian, kid." The man stepped towards her

"You killed them." Ahsoka snarled out, wishing she could find the strength to get up and move but her whole body ached in pain.

The man ran over to her, kneeling down next to her, putting his mouth next to her lekku before whispering lightly. "And I enjoyed it."

In a second the man had unsheathed a knife, _the_ knife – the one he'd used to torture her friends – she knew that she'd be meeting the same sticky ending; she somehow managed to ditch her Master when she was navigating through the alleys at impossible speeds.

The man put the knife next to her cheek, pressing down slightly as he regarded the disorientated teen. "Silly little girl."

"You monster." Ahsoka forced out between her gasps of pain, she could feel the knife make a shallow cut in her cheek.

"You're a Jedi?" He said whilst keeping an eye on her lightsaber, his eyes lighting up. "You could be of great use to me."

"Forget it." Ahsoka spat at him.

"You will help me, I'll make sure of it." He pushed the knife into her arm, before withdrawing it slightly and dragging it along the surface, as if he was writing.

Ahsoka let out a loud groan of pain, hyperventilating slightly to try and distract herself from the pulsating throbbing in her arm, the pain that seemed to override all other thoughts, freezing her in place and blinding her mind, taking over her completely. A high pitched squeal slipped out of her mouth, followed by periodic groans and moans of pain. She couldn't think of anything else but the excruiating pain in her arm.

The man suddenly went flying through the air, crashing into a far wall with a sickening crack, Ahsoka tried to move her aching head but the pain overwhelmed her, the damage to her headtails had interfered with her nerves.

Footsteps were the next thing she was aware of, quick footsteps, rushing towards her; she could hazard a guess as to who had found her.

"Ahsoka." Anakin knelt next to her, putting his hands on her cheeks and holding her head gently. "Talk to me."

"I wasn't expecting that." Ahsoka whispered quietly, her eyes blurring over slightly.

"Did he hurt you?" Anakin pressed. "Did he-?"

"No." Ahsoka cut him off, they both knew what he was going to ask. "You got here just in time."

Anakin looked over the girl, eying the blood slowly seeping out of a fairly deep wound in her arm; they needed to get that bandaged. He routed through his pockets, feeling for anything he could perhaps use as a makeshift bandage.

Even better, he found an actual bandage, it was usually Obi-Wan that carried to first aid kit, not him. He bet the Jedi Master had slipped it into his pocket when he wasn't looking, after all, he did spend all his time telling the younger man to carry them around for emergencies.

Anakin wrapped the bandage around her curious looking wound, it wasn't a straight line, he'd have to look over it once the blood had stopped and, judging by the depth of the wound, there would definitely be a scar, there was little that Bacta could do.

"Thanks." Ahsoka muttered as he tied the bandage in place.

Anakin put a hand on her cheek when her head began to droop to the side, something was wrong, she damaged her headtails somehow and it was messing with her brains and awareness. Foolish child, how could she just take off like that? Did she have no self preservation whatsoever?

"Ahsoka," Anakin's earlier bout of panic had been replaced by anger. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Ahsoka was about to reply, having beginning to formulate a defence for her actions but before she could even begin to defend her actions, although – judging by her Master's panic – that was a hopeless mission, he cut her off with his own tirade.

"I'll tell you what you were thinking, you _weren't_ thinking. That's what you were thinking" Anakin lectured angrily, giving her that special disappointed glare he'd mastered especially for her. "That man is so dangerous, he's mentally insane and you chose to go frolicking after him for a group hug?"

"I think he had more than hugging on his mind." Ahsoka groaned as the world around her became a bit clearer; her head lost a bit of the fuzziness and was replaced by pain.

"That's not funny." Anakin scowled darkly. "That's really not funny, do you not understand what he would've done had I not arrived when I did?"

"Yes, I do." Ahsoka could taste blood in her mouth, making her gag slightly at the coppery taste. "Five minutes ago would've been nice too."

"You're making a joke of this." Anakin's tone darkened, his voice turned into a hiss. "He nearly-" Anakin made a strangled noise, gesturing at the unconscious man. "he tried to…and…and you're making a joke?"

"Would you rather me break down and cry?" Ahsoka asked wryly. "Like a little baby?"

"Yes." Came Anakin's irritated tone. "I'd much rather that to your nonchalance."

"Well, you'll be waiting a long time." Ahsoka replied seriously. "Not, that I don't enjoy this little quarrel but my head really hurts and I think he's waking up."

Anakin nodded before standing up, his eyes flashing - in a way Ahsoka had never seen them do before – as he regarded the crumpled man, he looked scary, she'd never had reason to be fearful of her Master before but now…now she was scared.

"I'll be back in a minute." Anakin told the teen. "Don't move."

Anakin walked slowly and deliberately over to the injured man, not fazed by the blood that was spilling out of a wound on his side. "Now what am I gonna do with you?"

"You have to take him back to the temple." Ahsoka called out. "You can't just kill him."

Anakin ignored the girl's comment, instead choosing to stand over the man, watching as he slowly regained consciousness, giving Ahsoka the impression that he wanted to talk to him, obviously they were going to exchange words a bit more meaningful then of the weather and trivial gossip.

Anakin pressed several buttons on his commlink, waiting impatiently for his call to be answered.

"Obi-Wan, do you read me?" Anakin called into the comm.

"I read you Anakin." Obi-Wan's voice called back. "How can I be of service?"

"The council was right to send us down here; you'll never guess who we caught…"

* * *

**AN: I think I wrote this quite quick. I'm proud of myself! Please review :D**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The man made a painful groan as he came to, his hand going to his pounding head, his partially opened his eyes, thankfully for the lack of bright sunlight but then he faltered, praying that his eyes were playing tricks on him, and opened his eyes fully.

The teenage brat was slumped against the wall still, looking at him with a smug expression but what made him panic, what truly scared him, was her friend was back and happy would be the last word he would use to describe him, although, to be fair, he had just attacked his kid – that really isn't the best way to start off.

"What do you want, _Jedi_?" He spat out as if it were poison.

"Justice"

The man lost some of his cocky aura and his confidence instantly diminished. "What are you going to do to me?"

"I will be taking you to the Jedi council where you will be tried for numerous accounts of assault, torture, rape, attempted rape, murder and attempted murder; I can't imagine the council will be merciful."

The man said nothing, instead choosing to glare into the Jedi's eyes. They both knew what the penalty would be, any one of those charges would earn him a life sentence, but the list that just kept mounting up would earn him the label of a 'danger to society' and 'irremediable', which meant only one thing: execution.

"I shall make sure you get your just desserts."

"No-" The man stopped his attempts to plead and suddenly shuffled back, fear creeping up deep within him, as Anakin stalked over to him and knelt down next to him, leaning to hiss into his face.

"Don't you dare come snivelling to me." Anakin grabbed the man's collar. "Not after what you did to the younglings and Padawans, not after what you tried to do to my Padawan. I want a list of all others involved in the attack and maybe I'll campaign to get you a quick death, I know others will want it drawn out."

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan came running down the alley, following by Master Windu and a large group of troopers. "We came as fast as we could."

"Thankyou, Obi-Wan." Anakin walked back over to Ahsoka, kneeling beside the injured girl.

"Ahsoka?" Obi-Wan looked over to the teen. "What happened to you?"

"She's too headstrong for her own good." Anakin remarked before Ahsoka had a chance to formulate her reply. "How are you feeling? How's the pain on a scale of 1-10?"

"You kidding me Master, I feel like I'm walking on a cloud." Ahsoka half-smiled at her concerned Master, groaning a little as her head let out a particularly painful pound, as if to remind her of its injury. "Although, that might be because I hit my head…hard"

"My Padawan, ever the joker." Came Anakin's wry, yet slightly irritated, reply. "Are you still dizzy?"

"I think an important vein burst, I can feel blood." Ahsoka replied, her hand feebly flopped around as she attempted to lift it.

"Don't move, we don't know to what extent you've been injured, we don't want to make anything worse."

"I think we can safely assume my lekku are slightly scraped." Came Ahsoka's sarcastic reply.

Anakin looked up as Obi-Wan and Windu walked past him, each holding onto one of the man's arms – who was currently in binders – both with serious frowns on their faces as they regarded the monster who had attacked the temple, had attacked the children. Who could do that? Who could ever attack innocent children?

The children were precious to Jedi; they were the next generation, the ones who were to carry on the order. They were their survival, they ensured the Jedi's continuity, and they were the future. The Jedi did not take any threats to their children lightly, not at all, an attack against the younglings and Padawans was unforgivable in their eyes, an infraction of the worst sort, a great evil.

This man had done just that, attacked the children, Anakin imagined once the rest of the Jedi found out about his capture there would be calls for his blood. Nevertheless, it was highly unlikely that the man would survive.

A particularly pain-filled groan from his Padawan brought again away from his musings, his eyes flitting to the blood he could see creeping around her headtails from the back of her head. It was getting worse.

"I think we need to get you to the healers."

"No duh." Ahsoka remarked casually.

Anakin gently slotted his arms behind his Padawan's back and under her thighs, effortlessly lifting her small frame into his arms, before rising to his feet, looking back at the empty, blood-stained alley and quickly walking after Obi-Wan and Windu. If he never returned to this place it would be too soon, the undercity was a dark place, one that he didn't relish in the idea of ever returning.

"I can walk." Ahsoka mumbled. "I don't need carrying, like a baby."

"You can barely sit let alone walk." Anakin replied with a hint of teasing. "And as humorous as it would be to watch you stumbling about, I think it would be counterproductive."

Ahsoka watched the hoards of people walking around the undercity, laughing to themselves, chatting with their friends and simply having a good time. She was jealous…and she knew that was wrong, the Jedi weren't supposed to crave after things but…she did. How badly she wanted a normal life, with no daily threats to her life, friends that would still be there when she turned around, with parents to take care of her. With increasing frequency lately, she wished that Plo Koon had never found her, who were her parents? What would it of been like to grow up with them?

What would it have been like to live a normal life?

She bowed her head, it wouldn't do to obsess on what could've been, it had sent better Jedi than her insane, and had she never been taken to the temple she would've never met Blissany in the first place, nor her Master, or Plo, or Padme, or Obi-Wan. None of them would've ever have known her.

A small whispering voice inside her told her they would've been better off like that, better off having never met her, she brought trouble and danger wherever she went, and they people around her were the ones to pay for her misdeeds, they were the ones that always ended up getting hurt. Maybe she was better off alone, at least then there would be no-one around to get hurt when she next did something stupid.

* * *

Almost a week later found Ahsoka reclined against the stark white bed, still holed up in the medbay, her eyes watching the countless speeders - tiny specks in the distance - fly by, everybody else's life still continued on, she wished she could just get on with life like that, act like nothing had changed, that wasn't true at all, in her mind, everything had changed.

Ahsoka looked down at her arm, the Bacta patch having just been taken off, the scar was still there. She shut her eyes, she could remember what it felt like when he stabbed the blade in and then drew it along her arm, she remembered the blood and the pain. The teenager traced her finger along the cut, he hadn't just stabbed her, no, he'd done worse. He'd treated her arm like a piece of flimsiplast, 'Mine' was now inscribed in her arm, a pale scar that disgraced her very being. It would be with her for the rest of her life, Bacta couldn't do much to alleviate the scar, her arm would always say 'mine'. It disgusted her.

Her Lekku were alright, she supposed, they weren't damaged too much but some of the blood vessels that were damaged were quite important, the healers had managed to fix her up nicely but unfortunately the consequence of her brash actions would be that, for the rest of her life, she would be prone to dizzy spells, they weren't sure how frequent these spells would be – they could be once decade or every hour for all they knew – but she would experience them more than she ever would have before.

Ahsoka let out a troubled sigh.

Something was wrong – so awfully wrong – all of the Jedi could feel the storm brewing just beyond the horizon, and she feared that this storm would decimate them. Something was coming. It stirred in the darkness, watching, waiting, growing more and more powerful every day. It was the tendrils of the dark side, wrapping around the galaxy and threatening to choke them all. Its shroud over the Jedi – blocking their foresight – appeared to grow thicker and harder to see through as the Galaxy hurtled towards the darkness.

Anakin had something to do with it, she knew, he was her Master, of course she knew. She spent all her time watching him, observing him; of course she had felt the shroud settling around him, the darker aura his presence had taken on.

It felt treasonous – to doubt him like that, after all, he was the closest thing she'd ever had to family, he was both a father and a brother to her, but even she was not ignorant enough to not recognise the familiar poison of the dark side converging around him. She feared deeply for him.

"Hey, Snips." Speak of the devil.

"Master." Ahsoka inclined her head, not quite meeting his eyes.

He looked awful, that was the first thing that struck her about him, his hair was dishevelled – a messy array of brown curls – his eyes looked dull and lifeless and were framed by dark bags that only added to his zombie-like state, his cheeks were fairly sunken, having taken a hollow look to them, and he looked like he was battling to stay on his feet.

She had noticed little changes in him over the past few weeks but they were half as pronounced as they were today, today he looked like he was dead on his feet, he looked sick and sleep deprived. Something had happened, something had him on edge, she didn't need to have a bond with him to figure that out, he obviously wasn't sleeping and, judging by how his clothes hung baggily off him, he was neglecting meals. Something was terribly wrong.

She hadn't seen him in a few days, and all the while the feeling that something was awfully wrong had only increased, threatening to overwhelm her. At first she assumed his absence and the growing darkness was only coincidence but now, seeing him here, she realised that something was wrong, something was wrong with _him_.

"Master?" Ahsoka spoke after a few seconds of horror-struck silence. "Are you alright?"

"Just a rough day, Snips." Anakin shook of her worry. "Nothing for you to worry about."

"But…you look awful." Ahsoka winced slightly at her bluntness.

"Coming from the girl wrapped in bandages." It seemed his 'humour' was still intact, although she did detect an inkling of bitterness in that sentence. It seemed he wasn't quite ready to joke about the whole ordeal yet.

"Touché" Came Ahsoka's conceding reply.

Anakin walked over and came to sit in the chair beside her bed, watching her the whole time, his eyes looked troubled, beneath the dull exterior she caught glimpse of a sea of worry and trouble. Something _was_ wrong. She just knew it.

Then she saw it, the fear settled in his eye, framed by those horrible bags. It was a look she knew too well. The dishevelled hair, his obvious weight loss, the pale tone his skin had taken on, why hadn't she noticed sooner? It was staring her right in the face. It was so obvious, she'd seen these symptoms before, hell, she'd been through them first hand.

Nightmares. How had she not noticed earlier? Everything pointed at that conclusion, even his slumped posture, the way his limbs just seemed to dangle, too weak to hold themselves up. She knew better than anyone how nightmares could torture you physically as well as mentally.

"Master," Ahsoka approached the topic cautiously. "Are you sleeping okay?"

"Drop it, Ahsoka." He glared at her warningly. "Just drop it."

"Bu-"

"Did I not just tell you to drop it?" He stood up, looming over the young girl, his eyes flashing in anger.

Ahsoka furrowed her brow, her own annoyed eyes meeting his infuriated ones, holding rebellious defiance and a stubbornness in them that he'd not seen before. She was becoming too much like him.

"Please, Snips." He tried a gentler route. "I know I look like I've been hit by a speeder but trust me, okay? I've just been busy recently, plus, it doesn't help that I've been worrying about my crazy Padawan." He nudged her lightly, sitting back down in the chair beside her bed.

Ahsoka gave him a suspicious look, her eyes watching him intently, she could sense the lie but she choose not to comment on it. She'd trust him. Something deep within her told her to drop it anyway; something said not to pursue the matter any further.

"Okay." The young Togruta conceded.

Anakin smirked bumping his fist against her uninjured arm, managing to mask his trouble eyes behind a small spark of happiness. "Atta' girl."

His expression then turned serious, he put his arm down, bowing his head a little before sighing and lifting his head and his gaze to meet Ahsoka's, anger replacing the happiness she had just seen there.

"We need to talk about the other day." Anakin sat forwards in his chair and said sternly at her. "What you did was beyond dangerous, Ahsoka. I can't believe you'd just go gallivanting after him; I've never been more disappointed in you."

His words struck Ahsoka deep but, simultaneously, they ignited a spark of rebellion within her, her natural Predatory nature flaring up in her defence.

"What was I supposed to do? Let him get away?" Ahsoka retorted, folding her arms over her chest and raising her eye-markings.

"You were supposed to tell me, Ahsoka." Anakin scolded, glaring back at her. "Trust is conditional, Ahsoka, you only get it if you can adhere to appropriate behaviours and act in a sensible manner. You've just proved to me that you can't."

"He would've escaped." Ahsoka insisted.

"Escaped? In the two seconds in would've taken to alert me?" Anakin folded his arms, mirroring his Padawan's angry posture. "That was a pathetic excuse, Ahsoka. If you're gonna lie to me, at least have the courtesy to do it properly."

Ahsoka sneered at him in return, a look that seemed out of place on her youthful face, her Master – being as mature as he was – returned the looked with just as much malice, leading the pair to engage in a staring competition of sorts.

"Anakin."

Anakin looked over to the door whilst Ahsoka smiled victoriously; her smug smile seemed to aggravate Anakin even more, making the young Jedi let out a huffy sigh of anger, levelling his glare on whoever dared to interrupt his little fight with Ahsoka.

"The Chancellor wishes to speak with you."

Anakin nodded slightly at Obi-Wan, conveying to him that he'd heard the older Jedi, Obi-Wan smiled slightly at Ahsoka before leaving the room, sensing that Anakin wished to finish speaking with her before he left.

"Don't think you're off the hook yet." Anakin pointed a finger at Ahsoka in a scolding manner, his eyes dark and angry. "We'll finish this talk later."

"Can't wait." Ahsoka cocked her head in a scornful manner and put on a smile of mock-enthusiasm.

Anakin shook his head a little, staring sternly down at the young teen. "Stay in this room, do you understand me?"

"What?" Ahsoka sat up, shock spreading over her face. "The healer said I could leave today."

"I've spoken with the healers and relayed my requests; you are to stay in this room, Ahsoka." Anakin stood and turned to leave.

"You can't just confine me in here, I'm _not_ a youngling." Came Ahsoka's indignant claim.

"Well don't act like one then." Anakin hissed as he followed Obi-Wan, shutting the door behind him, the sound of the lock clicking echoed about the room.

Ahsoka slumped down in her bed, turning her head to look out the window once again, this day just kept getting worse and worse for her.

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**AN: I've managed to write a fair few chapters today so I should have the next up before/on Christmas. I may give you two if I can motivate myself to grammar check them both, it'll my christmas present to you! Please Review, reviews make me happy**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_Fire. That was all that seemed to cover the barren landscape, lava that flowed as far as the eye could seemed spontaneously, though the wasn't any sign of life on the planet for the scolding fiery streams to endanger._

_Ahsoka looked around, her head darting from side to side, she'd been here before, she could remember the hellish landscape anywhere, this was Mustafar. A loud eruption of angry lava nearby made her almost jump out of her skin, leaving her hyperventilating. Where was she? How did she get here?_

_The young Togruta walked over a large mound of ash and lifeless soil, stumbling slightly as the crumbling ground run from underneath her, moving every time she put a foot down. She let out a loud gasp of surprised when she lost her balance and fell forwards, resigning herself to crawling up the hill, an unidentifiable urgency to her action._

_She had to bed somewhere. She could feel it deep within her, there was something – nearby – that she had to see, the force was leading her to it._

_Reaching the top of the mound was a cause for a celebration in her opinion but before she could break out the champagne she caught sight of two figure, each stood on a hovering object, floating perilously above the lava, which was snapping at them from all around, as if it could sense it's next meal._

"_I have failed you, Anakin, I have failed you." That was Obi-Wan's voice, and sure enough, when Ahsoka focused her eyes she could make out the familiar shape of the Jedi Master._

"_I should've known the Jedi were plotting to take over." Ahsoka stood transfixed, he was so…wrong, there was something so wrong about him. He was just so evil, she could feel the hatred and darkness flowing off him in waves, threatening to overwhelm her._

"_Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil" He is?_

"_From my point of view, the Jedi are evil." We are? _

"_Well then you are lost."_

_What was going on? Ahsoka's head span to catch up with her, she couldn't make sense of anything, it was all mush in her head. What was happening?_

_The pair had a standoff, glaring at each other as they flew barely a foot over the lava, each bartering with their lives as the continued their hateful argument, rounding a small hovering platform with a worker on top, unceremoniously dumped in the middle of the lava flow_

"_This is the end for you, my Master." _

_Anakin suddenly leapt off the droid he was balanced on, landing behind Obi-Wan – wobbling for a few moments to regain his balance – before he blocked Obi-Wan's strike. The young Togruta let out a cry of horror when she saw the pair resume fighting, of their own accord, her legs began to sprint towards the duelling pair whilst her mind dwelled on the impossibility of the situation. This couldn't be happening, Obi-Wan and Anakin were friends…they were, they'd never fight, not ever. _

"_Cut it out." She screamed, not sure if the liquid dripping down her face was sweat or tears._

_Her cry went unnoticed, the figures seemed to act like she wasn't even there, completely unaware of her presence, but that was impossible, her Master could always sense her. She could never sneak up on him. He'd never been so distracted the he couldn't sense her, and she was in Obi-Wan's direct line of sight for peats sake, she couldn't have been more obvious if she held up a sign._

_This was a cruel joke._

_Obi-Wan force-leapt off the platform, back flipping and twisting before landing on the hill of decomposing soil lightly, several feet in front of the, apparently invisible, Togruta, her eyes a mix of fear and horror. "It's over Anakin, I have the high ground."_

"_You underestimate my power." Anakin had a demented glint in his eye as he glared at his former Master._

"_Don't try it."_

_Anakin leapt forwards with a loud battle cry – his body tucked up and twisting as he leapt high into the sky, with the sole intention of leaping over his former Master. Ahsoka felt a flash of warning through the force – one that both men seemed to be oblivious to – she instinctively shut her eyes when Obi-Wan thrust his lightsaber into the airborne mass that was her Master, a single tear slipping out as she heard his cries of pain, they tore straight through her as he groaned in excoriating agony._

_When she opened her eyes she was met with a traumatic sight, there lay her Master, missing both his legs and an arm, crying out in pain,_

"_You were the chosen on." Obi-Wan screamed at the younger man. "It was said that you would destroy the sith, not join them. Bring balance to the force, not leave it in darkness."_

_Obi-Wan walked up the mound a bit, picking up Anakin's fallen lightsaber, trying not to look back at the pain he had caused, the pain which he shared, it was ripping him up from inside out. At a small level patch Obi-Wan turned around, unable to stop himself, his heart heavier than ever and his eyes threatening to stream waterfalls._

"_I hate you." Her Master screamed at the older Jedi. _

_Anakin rolled slightly in the heaps of ashy terrain, his eyes glowing with untempered hatred and agonizing pain, Ahsoka couldn't bare the sight of it, she felt herself wanting to close her eyes but, both because of morbid fascination and the feeling that she had to, she kept them open._

"_You were my brother Anakin, I loved you." Obi-Wan was so close to breaking down now, she had never seen him so…broken._

"_MASTER!" Ahsoka screamed out instinctively, forgetting that she was nothing but a ghost to them, when his leg – or what was left of it – caught fire._

_Anakin began to howl and scream in pain as the fire engulfed his body, it became too much for the young Togruta and she had to turn away, refusing to let herself watch her Master's demise. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Obi-Wan also look away, his face tormented with grief and pain, this was just as hard for him._

_Then he walked away._

_

* * *

_

Ahsoka shot up in bed, screaming loudly as the vision tormented her, the sight of her mutilated Master burning replaying over and over in her head like a film. Of their own accord, tears spilled over her eyelids, running down her face like small streams.

She was vaguely aware of a presence approaching, quickly, her head turned towards the door slightly when her Master pounded into the room, taking one look at her blotchy face before rushing over to her bed, sitting beside her.

"Master." Ahsoka threw her arms around his waist when he came to sit on her bed beside her, her terror clouding her better instincts and strict Jedi uprbinging.

"Ahsoka? Ahsoka! Speak to me." Her Master was slightly shocked by the contact but after a moment's hesitation, wrapped his arms around her protectively. "What's wrong? Come on, Snips."

Ahsoka made a strangled noise before shaking her head, not able to find the words to speak, after all, how could one tell another that? It was so terrible; it left her head pounding and her heart breaking. She would never sleep again, no, never again, not if that was what she could expect when she slipped into a slumber.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Anakin asked, though the worry lingered heavily in his tone.

"It was so awful." Ahsoka's voice was muffled by Anakin's robes; she turned her head slightly so she could speak clearly. "Don't ever go, you just can't…you can't."

"I'm not going anywhere, Snips." Anakin pushed her back gently by her shoulders, holding onto them so he could look her in the eye. "What's brought this on? Eh?"

Again, Ahsoka shook her head, how could she tell him that she just saw him cut up and burnt at the hands of the man he viewed as a brother. Ahsoka pushed the thought to the back of her head, she couldn't, she just couldn't….it was a dream, that's all it was, nothing more than a dream. A really really awful one but a dream nonetheless, Obi-Wan would never do that, they would never fight.

She was just stressed, yeah, that must be it.

"Snips…" Anakin was at a loss at what to say, what to do. Comforting a crying teen wasn't generally in the job description, and if she wouldn't tell him what was wrong he couldn't help her.

"I'm sorry." Ahsoka pulled out of his grasp, pushing her palms into her watery eyes to wipe away the tears. "I should have better control."

"Everybody cries once in a while." Anakin gave her a playful smile. "Besides, a family on Tatooine will be very happy, your tears have given them enough water for a year."

Trust Skyguy to try make a joke out of it.

"Not funny." Ahsoka grumbled, somewhat good-naturedly

"Just trying to ease the tension." Came Anakin's mocking reply. "It's my job."

"Yeah? Well, you're fired." Ahsoka stuck her tongue out at his mock-offended face.

"That's burns, Snips." Anakin's smile fell when his Padawan flinched suddenly.

Ahsoka stared off in the distance, '_burns_'; that just brought more of the dream to the surface of her mind, staining her innocence with fire and death, the heat of the lava licking painfully at her mind. No matter how much she tried to shove her Master's tormented face deep away within the depths of her unconscious psyche, it just keep popping back up.

"Hey," Anakin called out cautiously, noticing the glazed look her eyes had adopted. "You alright?"

"Fine." Ahsoka shook her head a little in hopes of clearing the images. "So…" Ahsoka attempted to change the subject of conversation "…what did the Chancellor want?"

Anakin smirked slightly, his cockiness returning full-force. "He's appointed me as his personal representative on the Council."

"Really? That's amazing Master, congratulations." Ahsoka smiled, genuinely this time. "You must be the youngest Jedi Master ever."

"I'm not a Master." His good mood disappeared in phenomenally short time.

"What?"

"The council refuse to make me a Master." Anakin stood up and walked over to the window, looking out with cold eyes. "And then they expect me to betray a friend after such insult, it's an outrage."

"Maybe…they have good reason." Ahsoka attempted to look at the situation logically. "What do you mean 'betray a friend'?"

"Nothing for you to concern yourself with." Anakin turned back to face the girl, folding his arms over his chest. "They don't trust me."

"That's not true." Came her insistent reply.

"You're just a youngling, Ahsoka." Anakin looked over to the clock. "I don't expect you to understand."

Ahsoka, indignant at being referred to as 'just a youngling', narrowed her eyes harshly. "Well, maybe I am, but I'd rather be 'just a youngling' than mean, which is what you're becoming."

Anakin blinked, he wasn't mean! He was simply telling her the truth, it might be hard to face but he certainly wasn't being mean, he looked at the glowering girl, a small sense of guilt creeping upon him as he recalled his own words, he recalled her young naïve age.

She _was_ just a youngling – regardless of what she thought – and that's exactly why he was being mean, so he assumed, he was overloading her with things she wasn't yet ready to hear, she trusted the council and he wouldn't be able convince her otherwise…not yet.

"I'm sorry, Snips." Anakin sat down on her bed. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm not scared." Ahsoka replied quickly, her eye marking raising slightly. "I just don't like you treating me like a non-person, I may just be a youngling but I'm not stupid."

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to." Ahsoka looked away from him, bowing her head a little.

She could see it, she could see it _now_; she could see how and why her Master could fall. He was so…delicate. He could be so narrow-minded sometimes, believing that people were either with him or opposing him, he couldn't quite see the shades of gray – where the council themselves lay – that rested between each side.

She needed to speak with someone, she could not keep this a secret, dream or not, it meant something, she just knew it. However, the last person in the entire galaxy that she would be speaking with would be her Master, or any Jedi for that matter. Anakin had enough on his plate at the moment, and if the Jedi found out they'd assume it to be a premonition and would banish him from the order.

Ahsoka walked quickly through the dark alley - melding into the silent shadows - after all, that's all she was; a shadow of the night. She couldn't afford to be seen. She was supposed to be on confinement to the temple, the council's idea, for her 'poor behaviour of late' – exactly how they put it – but she had to speak with someone about her dreams and there was only one person she could truly trust with this.

She turned a sharp left, speeding up her, already hasty, walk. She was due to meet with her confidant in several minutes; it wouldn't be polite of her to be late, especially since she was the one that had called this meeting.

There were few people she could trust with this information, not Anakin, not the Jedi, not the clones, not a stranger – force forbid – no, that left only one person she could trust, the one person she'd always been able to trust.

Ahsoka glared at the harsh city lights as she strode out into the main street, blinking like carnivals, blinding her eyes from the intensity. She slid through a door in the wall of a small bar; glancing behind her to make sure she wasn't followed, half expecting her Master to be there. He always did seem to crop up when you didn't want him, and disappear when you needed him most.

Ahsoka quickly strode across the room, sticking to the walls where she would better blend in, though she couldn't be much more suspicious looking, young teenaged Togruta meeting in a shady bar in the undercity…no, couldn't get much more suspicious than that.

There they were.

Ahsoka walked towards a booth, glancing around her as uneasy eyes followed her, they didn't trust her. They probably thought she was either straight-out trouble, up to trouble or about to give them a hell of a lot of trouble, Ahsoka smirked wryly, had it been any other night….

But tonight was important.

* * *

**AN: Please review, let me know what you think of the story so far 0 I need the comments - my muse has taken an extended vacation :/ so maybe you guys can take its place and inspire me to write more **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ahsoka took a sip of the waiting jawa juice – non-alcoholic of course - she knew her well, Ahsoka put the glass down slightly, shifting it in her hands as flashes of the nightmare exploded into her head. Her mind span once again, those were truly awful images, she couldn't bare it.

Ahsoka looked over to the woman sat across from her; Padme was the only person she could think of that wasn't connected to the Jedi, that could help her. She'd been there before, back when she was unsure of her abilities – although that thought implied that she was sure of her abilities now, which she was anything but.

Ahsoka was slightly surprised when the Senator suggest they meet here, she'd never really thought of Padme as the risky sort. That was her own territory.

The teen narrowed her eyes in on the woman, she hadn't seen her in months, her eyes lingered on her stomach for a millisecond longer. Did Padme look a bit…round, or was it just her, she sort of had this _planety_ look about her, very round. Honestly, she knew that Coruscant had some of the highest obesity rates in the galaxy but this was getting ridiculous.

"What's on your mind?" Came her caring voice.

"I've been having bad dreams again." Ahsoka bowed her head a little, trying to remain apathetic. "These aren't of you this time, Padme, they're so much worse and…I'm scared."

"Talk to me, sweetheart." Padme put her own glass down and leant over the table slightly, putting her hands on top of Ahsoka's shaky ones.

Ahsoka's eyes flittered to meet Padme's caring ones, she maintained eye contact, but only for a moment, she dipped her head once again in shame, shameful that she had to depend on others to help her, that she couldn't figure this out alone

"I fear for my Master, I fear he may be in danger" Ahsoka looked up at the Senator apologetically. "…I'm sorry, I just didn't know who else to talk to." Ahsoka babbled on a little.

"I am honoured that you came to me." Padme gave the young girl a sincere smile. "We are friends, Ahsoka, and I care for you. If something is troubling you then it troubles me too."

"Thankyou." Ahsoka managed a small smile before letting out a short huff, trying to rid herself of her fear. "My dreams show so much pain, so much suffering, I want them to stop but…what if they're real? They could be of such use to us."

"Nothing is worth your sanity, I've seen these dreams before, I know for a fact that Master Skywalker had them frequently when he was protecting me." Padme paused. "It was disconcerting to watch him suffer like that. Those dreams were…"

Padme trailed off and stared into the distance, remembering that awful time her husband had gone through, the pain he'd been put through. She detested the idea of Ahsoka going through something even half as bad, one so young shouldn't be put through such mental trauma, Ani had struggled enough with the dreams at 19, Ahsoka was only 16.

"Of his mother." Ahsoka nodded a little. "Yeah, he told me."

Padme hide her surprise that Anakin had told the young girls of the awful nightmares he had experienced prior to the death of his mother, that had always been such a personal scar, he'd gone out of his way to keep, what he view as weakness on his part, hidden.

"What if my dreams are like his? What if what I see comes true?" Ahsoka was frantic now, her eyes wide and childlike.

"What are your dreams of?" Came Padme's concerned query.

Ahsoka almost immediately sat back, her posture rigid and cold, and her eyes seemed to water over for a second before she regained control over her emotions and forced the treacherous tears back, but her stiff posture did not abate in the slightest, she remained in a state of immobility for what seemed like hours before her mouth twitched slightly.

"You don't want to know." That whisper almost tore Padme in two, she sounded tortured, she shouldn't have to deal with this awful burden thrust upon her. "Mustn't tell, I mustn't tell...it's awful, very awful."

Padme watched in shock as the young, fierce Togruta she knew fell apart, what could she have seen that had torn her apart so much? What could possibly be so bad that it was torturing her mind? Padme looked over at the panicky girl again, it must truly be terrible for her, Ahsoka was one of the strongest girls she knew – she reminded her of herself – it would take something horrific to upset her like this.

Padme shuffled around the semi-circled shaped couch, stopping when she was beside the upset girl, she put an arm around her shoulders, smiling a little as the teen turned into her and cried onto her shoulder.

"I'm so scared, Padme." She sobbed quietly

"Its fine, nothing will happen." Padme stroked the girl's headtails gently. "Your Master won't let anything bad happen to you."

And neither would she. Padme vowed to keep a closer eye on the young girl, she needed people right now, she'd end up driven to insanity should she retreat into herself too much. Padme knew of what had happened in the temple not long ago, she knew Ahsoka's closest friend had been killed. Her heart wouldn't allow her to turn away from the child, she already had numerous responsibilities, watching over a teenager wouldn't help her accomplish them but she didn't care, she couldn't leave Ahsoka to deal with her problems alone.

"It's not me who's in danger." Her sobs had quietened into small sniffles now.

"I think I'm more worried about you than Anakin, he's always slipping out of dangerous situations." Padme laughed lightly to herself, hoping to ease some of the tension.

"He can't run forever Padme. He can't evade death forever; it'll catch up with him eventually." Ahsoka whispered, looking up at the older woman. "He isn't invincible."

* * *

_Ahsoka ran through the numerous mazes of halls and corridors, she didn't know what she was running from but she could feel the urgency, she felt the need to get away. She kept going and going, letting her legs carry her, not paying much thought to where she was going. She just knew she had to go, keep going and going, never stop running, she had to escape._

_From what she was running from, she was clueless._

_The blank white walls seemed more threatening to her then if they were dark, everything looked so pristine and clean, she didn't like it. It was slightly irksome, it felt sterile, unnatural, it somehow made the corridor feel small, more compressive, it did nothing to abate her growing fear._

_Her legs grinded to a halt when a back figure stepped out from around a corner. Her feet began to take steps back of their own accord; Ahsoka looked about frantically, searching for her escape._

"_How long did you think you could evade me?" The black cloaked figure stepped forwards. "I will __**always**__ find you, no matter where you run."_

"_Get away from me." Ahsoka found that her mouth moved of its own accord with words that were not her own. "Just stay away you….you traitor."_

"_Call me what you wish, that does not change anything."_

"_You overcame and brutally murdered Anakin Skywalker; you cut all connection with him, including me." She shouted at him. "Don't think showing up now will change anything, you're still the enemy."_

"_Obi-Wan has turned you against me."_

"_Is that your solution to everything? Obi-Wan had nothing to do with this, I can formulate my own decisions, that's something people can do, funnily enough." Ahsoka didn't know when she had become quite so masochistic; never in the world would she dream of insulting someone so…scary. "You and your goons had better keep the hell away from me, Vader."_

_Ahsoka was so confused, she couldn't control her body or her words, it seemed to be acting in its own accord, powered by some powerful subconscious suicide wish or something. Whoever this was, though, apparently they had a lot of history, judging by the way she was shouting at him, but who was he?_

_He seemed vaguely familiar, like when you look at a photograph and see someone that you swore you knew but you couldn't exactly pinpoint how. _

"_Why are you just stood there?" There she went again, her mouth going off without her consent. "I told you! I'm not coming with you."_

"_My patience is wearing thin." The man pointed at threatening black glove at her. "You will be coming with me, willingly or not. You are simply being defiant."_

"_Well they always did say; like-"_

_

* * *

_

Ahsoka gasped as she was thrown out of the dream rather forcefully, her head still slightly disorientated and full of sleep. Well, at least she hadn't watched her Master being mutilated in this one, which was certainly an improvement.

Ahsoka sat up slowly, who was that man? Why did he seem so strange yet so familiar? What that a vision of the future too? All these questions ran through her head with no apparent answers, her talk with Padme had done little to rest the growing fear within her, the Senator had helped – she always does – but she had managed to offer her emotional security but no answers.

It looked like she wasn't getting anymore sleep tonight, her mind was in too much turmoil for her to even comprehend, she couldn't possibly sleep when her head was whirring like a droid. No, there was nobody she could trust to help; she had to figure things out on her own.

Ahsoka climbed out of her bed clumsily, her eyes looking about her empty room, the loneliness clinging to her like a second skin.

Her Master wasn't here, he was _never_ here. She couldn't sense his presence anywhere near the temple, he always went out to visit 'friends', yeah right. What did he take her for? A fool? A burst of anger escaped her, focused at her errant guardian; he was never here when she needed him. He always just got up and left her by herself, no wonder she hadn't told him anything yet, he was never around!

Ahsoka slumped back against the wall, sliding down it until she hit the floor, where she curled up into a ball and woefully rested her head on her knees. She didn't know what to do, she was so confused, at the end of the day, she was only a kid, she didn't know how to fix the future. She'd had minimal experience with dreams, sure there was that time with Padme a few years ago but that was easier, she knew what was going to happen and how to stop her death, but now…she had no clue of how to fix Anakin.

She felt so lost, if she couldn't trust her Master, then who could she trust? He was supposed to guide her and take care of her, not leave her to attempt to sort through the mess on her own, that's not how it was supposed to be. It's just not.

Perhaps, he just figured she wasn't worth the trouble - she couldn't blame him. She was a burden; everyone knew it, her Master was always stuck having to dig her out of an early grave. Maybe he'd gotten tired of it so was trying to keep away from her, maybe.

If only Blissany was here. She needed her, now more than ever.

She needed to get out; being holed up in the temple alone all the time was doing nothing except sending her crazy, she couldn't stand being in the lonely place any longer. She wanted out. Ahsoka quickly got changed out of her sleepwear and into her usual outfit, before looking back at her room, her eyes flitting about the empty stark place. Then she left, figuring there were better places she could spend her night.

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**AN: Merry Christmas! Please review**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Ahsoka walked back into her shared apartments with her Master, although, you couldn't really consider it to be _shared_. He was never here. She had pretty much had an entire Knight's apartment to herself, although, the novelty of it had worn off after the first week or so, she just became lonely and began to dread their stays on Coruscant. She was a Togruta – a social species that lived in groups – they couldn't stand being left alone, didn't Skyguy know that? It tore them apart and made them feral, aggressive.

Ahsoka leant back against the door when it closed behind her, looking up to the ceiling as if that would provide her with answers, she needed to speak with Master Yoda – at more sociable hours of course – she needed his help, but how would she gain it without implicating her Master, she couldn't help but want to protect him, he didn't deserve to be treated like a criminal for something he hadn't even done…yet.

"Where have you been?" A lit switched on from the corner of the room, where her Master was seated in an armchair, a stern expression on his face.

Ahsoka jumped slightly, not quite registering the familiar voice, her hand automatically flying to where she kept her lightsaber, she still hadn't quite registered that the intruder was her own Master, her eyes widened in worry when she couldn't find it. Oh dear, not again.

"Is this what you're looking for?" Anakin stood, twirling her lightsaber between his fingers.

"Give me that." Ahsoka stepped towards him, hand outstretched expectantly.

Anakin's eyes narrowed at his Padawan's rudeness and he took several steps towards her, stopping to glare down at her, his eyes glinting with that look she'd seen in her hellish dream. He practically shoved the weapon in her face, waving it a little in front of her eyes.

"This weapon-" Anakin was rudely cut off by his annoyed Padawan who, having heard the speech several times over, decided she would relay it.

"…is your life." She finished for him, rolling her eyes impatiently. "Yeah, I know."

"Then why did you leave it?" He thundered at her, losing what was left of his patience.

"I just forgot it." Ahsoka retorted defensively, folding her arms. "It was a onetime thing, stop freaking out."

"Then stop putting yourself in danger." He shouted in return.

"Stop yelling at me!" Ahsoka scowled and furrowed her brow.

"You're trying my patience, Ahsoka." Anakin pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation, reminding himself that locking her in the coat closet - whilst satisfying - would not solve anything.

"I just went out for a bit." Ahsoka explained, her tone holding nothing short of exasperation. "What's the problem?"

"'What's the problem'" Anakin mocked darkly. "You can't just go wandering the city at your leisure."

"What? Like you don't?" Ahsoka argued back boldly.

"I'm an adult." Anakin glared at her. "The last time I checked, I'm the Master in this arrangement."

"Well, maybe we should switch roles because I'm more responsible than you'll ever be." Ahsoka folded her arms over her chest in defiance. "You can't even take care of yourself."

Anakin's eyes flashed darkly.

Instinctively, Ahsoka took several steps back out of fear, he'd never been this mad at her before, she'd pushed him to the limits continuously when she'd been assigned as his Padawan but he'd never given her reason to fear him before but now, now she could safely say she was scared. It was intimidating to have a furious 6 foot, Sith in training – although that was debatable – glaring down at you.

Anakin let out a slow breath, attempting to regain control of his wavering patience, Ahsoka was just trying to get on his nerves. She was being avoidant and argumentative and just a nuisance.

"Where have you been?" He reiterated slowly, letting out another controlled breath. "I wake up in the middle of the night, feeling something is wrong, I come back here and what do I find?"

"Obviously not me because I was out." Came Ahsoka's foot-in-her-mouth comment, which, seconds later, she regretted. Her Master wasn't known for his self-control, in fact, quite the opposite; he was known for his awful temper.

For a few seconds there, Ahsoka feared Anakin would strike her, his eyes flashed dangerously but before he completely lost control or Ahsoka could stick her foot further in her mouth, whichever came first, he stormed out of the room and was out of the apartment in a mere second.

And she was alone yet again, funny, she thought she'd be a bit more enthusiastic at the lack of punishment from her Master - no confinement, no cleaning the ship, no boring lecture, nothing - but she couldn't help but feel a throbbing loneliness channel through her, he'd just proven that he didn't care. She, apparently, wasn't worth the effort anymore. What had happened? Things weren't always like this, what happened to the Jedi she'd admired, looked up to?

Well, he was gone with the wind.

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Ahsoka stumbled into her bedroom, recalling her night, the night that had gotten her into so much trouble with her, usually errant, Master. Perhaps she could've been a bit more sensible, just maybe going out in the dead of night wasn't the smartest idea in the world.

When Ahsoka had woken from her dream she had decreed that it would've been impossible to get back to sleep, not when her mind was so awake, so the teenager had decided to wander the city, deciding that – since her Master was never home – no-one would notice. Looking back, Ahsoka decided that idea was hurriedly thought out and, overall, stupid; of course Anakin would notice…he _always_ noticed.

Ahsoka walked over to the small window, her eyes tired and sad, they locked onto a small speeder that – something told her – had her Master in it, he was doing what he did best – running away, a skill that he had taught to his young, mouldable Padawan.

It was what they both did best, run away from their problems, trying to pretend they could just leave them behind and never looking back, not wanting to see what was behind them.

Ahsoka slammed her hand onto the window, her handprint leaving a mark on the condensation; she bowed her head and let out a shaky breath. That future seemed to be becoming more likely every day, everyone was changing – herself included – and it was hurtling them towards the darkness, and the tragedy was that the Jedi were aware of their impending doom but were helpless to stop it.

She had to talk to Yoda.

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Ahsoka bit her lip as she approached the old Master's quarter, he was in, she could sense him, but now she was starting to get cold feet. The Jedi Master – despite his small stature – was intimidating, he was the wisest Jedi, and strongest user of the force, though her Master was quickly catching him up, something he seemed smug about.

Maybe it was too early, the Jedi might not even be up yet and she would hate to disturb him with her mediocre nightmares; when she put it like that she felt ashamed that she was so disturbed by something as basic as a dream, she was no better than a baby, crying out the second something upset her. Maybe seeing Yoda wasn't the best idea, it would just show him how immature she was. He would end up sending her to the agricorps for being a completely pathetic wuss, no, maybe she should just lea-

"Going to stand out here all day, are you youngling?" Ahsoka looked down, a shocked expression on her face, she hadn't sensed him come out.

"No, Master Yoda" Ahsoka bowed respectfully to the Grand Master. "Sorry. I wish to speak with you."

"In you come, much to discuss I sense you have. Hmmmmm." The Jedi Master shuffled back through his door, indicating for the Togruta to follow.

Ahsoka sat down on one of the circular stools, fidgeting with her hands in her lap as she thought of what to say. She remembered being in this position before, back when Senator Amidala was in danger from the bounty hunter, Aurra Sing. Though, looking back on it, that seemed so simple and easy compared to the dilemma she was faced with now.

"Master Yoda, I'm having more dreams." Ahsoka began; she folded her hands in her lap before looking up at the Jedi. "But these are worse."

Ahsoka took in a deep breath to steady herself, his mind wandering a little, before she continued. "I fear that my Master is in danger…from the dark side."

Yoda made a slight contemplative sound, before moving from his standing position to sit in a stool, his eyes regarding the worried Padawan closely as she searched for the words she needed.

"Much fear Skywalker has; much anger." Yoda shook his head a little. "Ideal prey for the dark side, would he be, but strong he is, resisted it's clutches before he has."

"But what if this time is different? What if this time he gets hurt? What then?" Ahsoka temporarily forget to whom she was speaking before blushing slightly and offering a mumbled. "Sorry."

"Free to speak your mind in here, you are." Yoda gestured to the room. "These four walls are our only guests."

Ahsoka brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as the vision invaded her mind once again, the fire, the burning, the pain. It was all so horrible.

"What should I do?" Ahsoka whispered.

"Clouds everything, the dark side does, shrouding our vision." Yoda looked pensive. "For a reason, these visions have visited only you. Help you can."

"But how?" Ahsoka looked astonished. "I don't know how, I'm not the most equip for this, I don't even know what it means. How am I supposed to help?"

"Of your fear, letting go. Hmmmmmm." Yoda closed his eyes. "Clouded everything it has, but given you a window the force has. Choose the right path, only you can."

"What about my Master?" Ahsoka mumbled. "How do I help him?"

"Been given a terrible fate, Skywalker has, as with all of us, at the force's will he is."

"Woah, wait a minute, you know?" Ahsoka leant forwards. "You know what's going to happen to him?"

"See great pain in his future I do, show me more, the force does not. But great pain for him, do I sense." Yoda shook his head sadly. "Unable to help I am, will of the force it is, at its mercy, we are."

"But…what about the prophecy?"

"Fulfilled it will be, put faith in the force, you must." Yoda said from his position in the shadows.

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Ahsoka was even more confused when she left Yoda's apartments, he knew about what was going to happen to her Master? Then why didn't he help, why didn't he stop it? Since when, were the Jedi so self-centred? Yoda obviously knew Obi-Wan would deal with her Master and, as long as he didn't attack the temple – not that he ever would – then everything would be hunky-dory in Yoda's eyes. Stupid green troll.

She didn't want her Master to die, sure they fought and argued but that didn't mean she didn't care for him. He was her Master, of course she did, even when he was being a complete and utter di'kut – which was increasingly frequent of late – he was still her Master…deep, deep down…somewhere, perhaps, buried beneath a whole metre of stupid.

Ahsoka stopped slightly as the visions assaulted her mind, faltering to the side and leaning against the wall. Not again, not again….it felt like it was burning her mind, watching him suffer like that; it was the worst form of torture.

She just had to stop it, she couldn't just let him die, not like that, it was so terrible; watching him scream and howl as he was engulfed by excruciatingly hot lava. She'd never heard her Master scream like that, he'd been in pain before, of course but he'd always kept quiet, probably so not to frighten her. But Mustafar, that struck a chord within her, it scared her.

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**AN: Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: I personally think I was quite quick with this update**

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Chapter 9

Several weeks passed, and apart from the odd dream about the tall black mechanical man, it was a _relatively_ nightmare-free time to Ahsoka's joy. She would never admit it but the nightmares were weighing her down, they were messing with her head and comprising her ability, had they continued own like they had she would have, no doubt, wound up in the medbay. Though, they hadn't left her completely without impairment, everyone had noticed the dramatic weight loss and how pale she had gotten of late, her own Master had nagged her about it constantly, moaning about her not eating enough…back when they were on speaking terms.

For the most part, the nightmares were over, they hadn't plagued her as much as they used to, and she was usually able to keep the Mustafar vision away – pushing it far into her subconscious – which worked well for her…until she was alone, without anyone around to distract her, her mind flitted back to that awful place. And, since her big argument with her Master, she was alone increasingly often nowadays.

She spent a lot of time in the room of a thousand fountains, she had philosophised that, if she was in such a pure and beautiful place, then the dark hateful images wouldn't plague her and that had proved true, it must be something to do with the aura of the place, the light side of the force was so very strong there. It overcame the darkness of her dreams. It was all part of her strategy to ignore her visions and hope they went away.

Her Master, like her nightmares, was becoming even more uncommon, it seemed like he never visited the temple anymore. And they hadn't really exchanged two words to each other, not since the fight, things had been strained between them, she could feel their bond stretching, it wouldn't snap – it was much too strong for that – but it was so thin, damaged and frayed like an uncared for rope. With time, and neglect, one day – most likely far off – it would just wither away, decay into something that was only a shadow of the tight knit rope that used to bind them together, but she hoped it would never come to that.

Obi-Wan had too noticed her errant Master's continuous disappearances, and had, informally, taken up the task of her training, and she was eternally grateful for that, if she was just left alone every hour of the day, with nothing to do, she'd go crazy.

Ahsoka rounded a corner, she was supposed to be meeting with Master Kenobi in a training room - he was going to help her practice fighting with two lightsabers, something that she been learning under her own Master, before he had pretty much disowned her.

If he didn't want to train her anymore he should speak up and say something, then perhaps she'd have chance to get a new Master, it would be a lot easier than him simply ignoring her. She was a big girl, she could handle it, and anyway, how could it possibly be much different? Either way, her Master had deserted her.

Ahsoka furrowed her brow when several Knights hurried past her, not even acknowledging her, talking in hush anxious voices between themselves. Something had gone off, she could tell, she could feel the sad emotions that plagued the temple, someone was hurt, badly. From the snippets of conversation she had heard from passersby she could summarise that someone had been gravely injured and was in a coma, a well-liked Knight or something.

Ahsoka paused when the force sent her a flash of anxiety and seconds later she heard several pairs footsteps approaching, from what she could tell, two people were coming. She curiously lifted her head, as if that would help her look around the far corner from which the voices were coming from.

"Anakin…" Ahsoka ducked behind a column as familiar voices rounded the far corner, too busy with their own conversation to sense her presence.

"What?" Came her Master's aggravated voice. "I need to go Obi-Wan, I have things I need to do."

"You have things here." Obi-Wan's tone was slightly scolding towards the younger man.

"No I don't, I'm on meditative leave for a while." Anakin responded simply. "You know that, I have no responsibilities."

"What about Ahsoka?"

"What about her?" Ahsoka shifted slightly, the callous way he said that stung.

"She's been missing you, she won't admit, of course, it but I can tell she feels lonely…deserted." Thanks Obi-Wan, why not tell her weakness-hating Master of all her other insecurities while he was at it.

"She's made it clear that she doesn't want me in her life, Obi-Wan."

"Anakin, she's a teenager, if I had of walked out after every time we fought then we wouldn't have made it past the first year."

She heard Anakin let out a short huffy breath, displaying his agitation and exasperation stronger than words could ever hope to.

"I don't have time for this." He attempted to change topic.

"Well, when will you have time?" Ahsoka had never heard Master Kenobi get irritated like that before. "You have a child that needs you and you're shunning her and what am I supposed to tell her when she asks me where you are? When she asks me why you don't like her? Because I don't know what to tell her anymore, I don't even know the answers myself."

"She doesn't want me around."

"Yes, she does, she's just too proud – much like you." Obi-Wan sounded exasperated. "She's just scared to ask for help."

"Ahsoka is _not_ afraid of me." Anakin sounded indignant at the idea of his Padawan fearing him.

"No, not _of_ you; she's afraid of disappointing you." Ahsoka heard their footsteps stop. "She doesn't want to let you down; she believes you'll look down on her if she doesn't meet these ridiculously high standards she places for herself."

"That's preposterous." Anakin's tone was unsure.

"Is it, Ani?" Ahsoka heard Obi-Wan let out a sigh; they must be pretty close to her hiding spot.

"Yeah, it is." Her Master's tone was more confident as he recalled his tough adolescence and his constant belief that he was only valued for being the 'chosen one'. "You can't value someone based on their accomplishments, especially not a teenager, they beat themselves up enough…I should know"

"You know that but she doesn't." There was a slight pause before Obi-Wan continued. "It's something that is becoming increasingly common in Padawans now, due to the fact that their Masters frequently have to leave them at the temple when missions are too dangerous."

"Explain, please." Came Anakin's tired request. "I don't understand any of this psychological stuff you love."

"A lot of youngling's seem to be forming a belief that they are only valued should they meet certain conditions." Obi-Wan informed his former Padawan. "It's making them lose confidence in themselves and consequently the force, they belief they are only valued if they are strong and when they fail it causes all sort of issues. You see?"

Ahsoka heard Anakin let out a deep breath, she could feel him letting out anger, that he had held onto the too long now, into the force and drawing calm in, letting the force surround him. His force signature was like a light show, with the angry red splotches of light seeping out of him and being replaced by light blue waves that softy rippled.

"I think so." Anakin replied after a few moments. "And you're trying to tell me that's what's going on with Ahsoka?"

"I believe so."

"And it's my fault." Anakin surmised

"I didn't say that." Came Obi-Wan's quick defence.

"You didn't have to."

Ahsoka pushed herself further against the wall next to the column, hoping to squeeze into the triangle shaped gap between the two so she wouldn't be seen when they walked past but all she managed to do was bruise her stomach and possibly knock about her innards.

"Ooft." Luckily, the two Jedi didn't hear her painful exclamation as she knocked her elbow on the stone column.

Maybe they just wouldn't see her.

"Anyway, I'm supposed to be meeting with Ahsoka soon." Obi-Wan broke the silence. "I've been helping her since you are quite busy now."

"Thankyou Obi-Wan, for everything …" Her Master's tone was genuine ...I'm not the ideal Master, we both know that, Ahsoka needs someone like you around when I screw up."

"Don't doubt yourself so much, Anakin." Obi-Wan told his former Padawan. "You are a good Master; you just need to have a bit more patience with her. She's just as stubborn as you are."

"Thanks" Anakin smiled wryly at his former Master "I'd better go, I have to run some errands but I will talk with Ahsoka."

Ahsoka pushed herself back against the wall when she heard the footsteps restart, her Master wasn't the most observant of people, he probably wouldn't see her, no…she was pretty sure he wouldn't see her.

To her luck, her Master was too busy reading through a datapad in his hands to notice the young Togruta pressed against the wall, willing herself to be invisible; he kept on going – not looking up – until he rounded the corner. She couldn't help the feelings of self-superiority that crept upon her, she felt like a ninja, she should picked for espionage missions more often, she was pretty good at it. She then chose to let out a quiet sigh of relief; that was a close one.

"I know you're there, young one."

She'd forgotten about Master Kenobi.

Ahsoka sighed, knowing she been caught, before sheepishly walking out from her cover, embarrassed as to having been caught eavesdropping on a Jedi Master's conversation, her head bowed ever so slightly to hide her dark red blush.

"You are almost as bad as your Master." Obi-Wan let out a slight chuckle, the similarities between the pair having not escaped his notice.

"Sorry." Came Ahsoka's guilty apology.

"There's no need for apologies, young one, I believe it was quite beneficial for you to hear that." Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Perhaps now the rift between you two will start to heal."

"I hope so."

Obi-Wan looked at the girl with sympathetic eyes; she didn't deserve this, not now. Everyone knew of her friendship with, not just Blissany, but several of the slain younglings, and they were also aware of Ahsoka's difficulty with the situation. She didn't know how to deal with it. Obi-Wan also had a nagging suspicion that the young girl had seen the security recording, she was resourceful and had learnt a lot of slicing techniques, he was almost positive her curiosity had lead her to the recording.

He'd have to have a word with her Master about what he was teaching her, it was all fine and dandy teaching her how to slice Separatist technology, but when he started teaching her how to slice into a Republic database then that's when it got problematic. Those files were restricted for a very good reason. How did Anakin even learn to get into those databases in the first place? And why in the world did he believe teaching Ahsoka to do so would be in the least bit beneficial? He'd set himself up for a fall.

"Come along then, I believe I promised you a sparring session." Obi-Wan gestured towards the door, the opposite side of the corridor to the other door that Anakin had just left through.

"With all due respect Master Kenobi, you're going down." Ahsoka put her audacity to say such a thing to a Jedi Master down to her rough week, any other time she wouldn't have dared.

"A Jedi does not crave victory, young one." Obi-Wan remarked in an amused voice, a smile spreading over his face. "And, as I believe you Padawans commonly phrase it: bring it on."

She liked this side of the Jedi Master. She saw it when he bantered with her own Master but he'd never been so…playful with her before, she liked it better, it made him seem more mortal and less inhumanly perfect. She supposed he was trying to improve her mood, it seemed to be a mission of his of late, she had to say…it was working.

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**AN: Please review, I know there hasn't been much going on except Ahsoka's dreams but these first chapters set up the whole story**.


	10. Chapter 10

**An: Who else is sat at home doing a big fat nothing on New Years Eve whilst everyone else is at parties and getting wasted? -_- fml**

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Chapter 10

Ahsoka stared at the wall blankly, her face a composed epitome of calmness, not betraying one emotion at all. One would think that she was everything a Jedi should be – ungoverned by her emotions and peaceful – however, in her head was a different story, if one could navigate through the stormy unrest that was her mind they would find deeply rooted anger, coursing through her like a current.

Her sparring session with Obi-Wan had been cut short by the arrival of her Master, Master Fisto and Master Windu, they spoken with him in hushed voices but she caught most of it. They were going to interrogate the man detained not long ago - non-violently of course, the man who had murdered her friend, and almost had her.

She'd been quick to follow the Masters when they turned to leave but her own had forbidden her from getting involved, telling her to return to their apartment and that he'd come by to see her later, he claimed that only members of the council were going to interrogate him.

And the others, Masters Windu, Fisto and Kenobi deemed her too personally involved with the whole situation – emotionally comprised was how Windu described her – to even be considered to be present at the interrogation.

So here she was, sat in her quarters, wishing she was at the interrogation. She had to know why. She just had to. She wanted to know what his motive was, how he could so calmly walk into the temple and attack them, with no reason to do so, it wasn't done out of revenge or vengeance, it was pure spite. And she couldn't understand why.

What was his motivation to attack them? And what did he want with her?

Ahsoka wrestled with her demons, waging a war inside her, she wanted so desperately to go, to get answers and the demon sided with that idea fully, however, the little angel on her shoulder – her morality principle – argued not to get involved.

Ahsoka was too engaged in her own thoughts to notice the figure slid in through the window, stealthily creeping towards her.

Ahsoka's head jumped up, a flash of anxious warning from the force spurring her into action and she span around almost instantly, coming face to face with an unruly middle-aged man with scruffy clothes.

"Who are you?" Ahsoka's hand went to her utility belt, resting on top of her lightsaber hilt.

The man smirked, an unsettling image at the least. "I'm surprised you don't know."

"He's your friend." Ahsoka surmised. "The prisoner, you're one of them…then why are you here? Why are you after me when you could be rescuing him?"

Ahsoka felt another flash of alarm from the force, a warning for caution before proceeding, this man had somehow slipped into the temple undetected, she didn't know what he was capable of. Perhaps he'd had a bit of experience when it came to invading the temple unnoticed; maybe he was there at the massacre in the 'Chamber of Dreams.'

"Did you help him?" Ahsoka asked boldly. "When he killed all those kids? Were you there?"

The man didn't answer for a few seconds, watching the young girl closely, his eyes taking in every movement, every little thing she did. He cocked his head ever so slightly, an unidentifiable gleam in his eye and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly from the suppressed grin. "I don't answer to children."

A jolt of anger ran through the girl, he was mocking her, he was playing around with her, he thought it all a joke – he wasn't taking her seriously. He only saw her as a little kid, not a threat at all.

"Who are you?" She asked again, taking her lightsaber off of her belt and holding her thumb over the activation button.

Again, the only reply was a smirk from the man, making the young Togruta bristle with anger, anger at his blasé attitude, the way he just assumed that because of her young age, she wasn't a threat. Ahsoka could take this man, _he_ wasn't a threat, he was just overconfident.

She lunged at the man, her lightsaber withdrawn in a second and ignited, she thrust it towards him, anger thrusting her forwards and into actions.

The man ducked at the last second evading her anger-filled swipe, she went at him again, putting more power into it but yet again he dodged at the last second, evading her blow by mere inches. Okay, maybe he was better at this then she thought – for an old man.

He was faster then she expected, faster than he should've been, he'd had some form of training, no untrained operative could fight a Jedi – fight _her_ – like that.

They continued their little dance for what felt like hours, Ahsoka methodically striking where he left himself vulnerable but, as before, he would always avoid her swipes at the last second, befuddling the girl.

He was more than just an old man, he shouldn't be able to fight her like that, so easily avoid her swipes, no…she had underestimated him, he was dangerous. The man had training, he was excessively competent when it came to avoiding her attacks, and he was fast, too fast for it to not be through training. At his age, she should've finished this thing before it had started.

Left, right, duck, jump, flip…Ahsoka logically went for moves that would attempt to create an opening in his defence. She jumped back again before spinning on her toes, thrusting her lightsaber round with her, only to find he was gone.

Ahsoka felt his presence behind her a second too late and then she felt pain, so much pain, erupting from her, more than sensitive, lekku and she let out a gasp of pain, paralysed by the excruciating hurt. In a second, he grabbed her arm, shoving it up behind her back, and she reflexively let go of her weapon.

Ahsoka did the only reasonable thing she could think of; something she should've done the second this monster entered the apartment. She sent a flash of fear to her Master, hoping he would interpret it as her being in danger.

He pushed her arm further up into her back, his body pushing into her vulgarly as he did so, making the Togruta extremely distressed, she fought to get out of his grasp but when he pushed her arm even further – threatening to dislocate her shoulder - she gave in.

"I expected more, beautiful." He whispered next to her headtails, where her ears would've been had she been human. She bristled slightly, leaning away from him, beyond uncomfortable at his contact now.

Then he kissed her headtail.

'_Master!'_ She screamed mentally to him, beginning to struggle again, this could not be happening.

A slight pop and a shooting pain through her arm told her that her shoulder had been dislocated; the Togruta hissed slightly, bouncing on her toes in attempts to get in a more comfortable position for her shoulder but the man wouldn't have any of it.

She felt him move about a little before forcefully shoved both her wrists behind her back, binding them there. Why was it always her that got captured? By force, when would she get to finish playing the role of victim?

Minutes later Ahsoka was being carried, embarrassingly over the man shoulder, through the deserted halls of the temple, this was ridiculous, where was everyone? Although, judging by how dark it was and how tired she was, she assumed they were all in bed.

Part of her was glad the halls were empty; she didn't think she would ever live it down if any of her classmates saw her in her current position, being carried like a troublemaking child, out of the temple. She was enough of a freak already, especially because of her advance abilities, she didn't need them thinking she was weak too. No, they teased her enough as it was.

"Why do you want me?" Ahsoka growled.

The man didn't answer, keeping up his mysterious charade that irked the young Togruta to no end. Could he not give her any answers, although that was pretty unreasonable of her to think, from experience, Ahsoka had noted that most half-decent criminals tended to keep the casual conversation to a minimum.

You can step in anytime Master, Ahsoka thought bitterly as she was carried through the irritatingly empty temple, seriously, was no-one wandering about?

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Anakin hurried through the corridors, thankful that no-one was about to obstruct his way, he knew he shouldn't have left her, the girl was almost as bad at finding trouble as he was and this time she managed to do it from the comforts of her own room.

He'd felt the flash of warning from the girl, which was enough to create worry in him, and was certainly reason enough for him to quickly leave the interrogation, giving his reasoning to Obi-Wan quietly before he left.

It was when he had heard her shout through the force that he'd really began to panic, he'd already checked their apartment, she wasn't there. Anakin tried to swallow the ball of guilt rising in his throat, force, he shouldn't have left her. He hadn't been around for her for weeks, and now she been taken, it was all too easy for them; they didn't have to worry about any protest from him, he been too neglectful to even remember her.

Anakin randomly took a right, spurring himself on, feeling this was the direction his Padawan and her taker were, he had to save her. He wouldn't lose her too. He'd been so focused on saving Padme that he'd forgotten to protect Ahsoka, and now she was missing…again.

Anakin felt anger surge through him as he saw a fairly podgy man speed walking down the corridor in front of him, so far unaware of his presence, what irked him the most was that his Padawan was over the man's shoulder, kicking and bucking as much as she could to try and get out of his grasp.

"Let her go." Anakin bellowed.

The portly man span around suddenly, tensing in preparation for another fight, causing the child over his shoulder to let out a quiet gasp of pain, her injured shoulder bouncing against his back. Anakin made to approach him, his expression menacing and his eyes hateful, he was out for blood.

The man had other ideas; he quickly dropped the young girl, spinning her around to face Anakin before pulling her back, putting a knife at her throat, pressing down so it drew the tiniest amount of blood.

"Another step and I kill her." He threatened, his eyes flashing with madness, letting out a fearfully insane cackle. "You gotta make a choice, boy: save her or kill me."

Anakin looked uncertain for a second but he stopped nonetheless, his eyes full of stirring emotions, just below the surface, but fixed, not on the man, behind him. He looked back at the man, overconfidence filling his every gesture, a small smirk playing on his face, his head moved the tiniest little bit in what could've been a nod, before…

SPLAT

Blood spurted out from the man, erupting from a steaming hole in his head – courtesy of the clone stood metres behind him. He stood immobile for a few seconds before crumpling to the ground with a loud crash.

Ahsoka blinked, she was coated in blood and worse, her senses disappeared and she swayed on the spot for a few seconds before she made a hoarse gagging sound, trying to fight back the rising bile. She bent over a little, holding her stomach, trying not to think about what she was covered in, to no avail.

"It's alright." Anakin was by her side in a split second, holding both her shoulders to keep her steady. "You're alright, Snips."

"I'm covered in…" She trailed off and gestured to the blood and more that coated her entire upper half.

"Try not to think about it." Anakin told her gently, wiping a large chunky piece of organic matter from her face with his sleeve, trying not to think about the fact it was probably part of his brain.

"Oh, why didn't I think of that?" It looked like she wasn't too traumatised from this ordeal; her snippiness – her namesake - was still intact.

Ahsoka let out a shaky breath, focusing her mind on exerting her out-of-control emotions. Everything was fine, she was fine. She was a Jedi; Jedi don't freak out.

"You killed him." Ahsoka murmured, not quite meeting her Master's eyes.

"I didn't kill him."

"Not directly but I know you gave the order, the way you looked behind me – at that clone – and nodded slightly before he fired." Ahsoka folded her arms over her chest. "I know, Master – I'm not stupid – I know."

"Fair enough." Anakin stood to his full height, wiping the blood on his hands on his robes. "I had to make a choice, Ahsoka, and I chose you. The Jedi will have to get all their information from the prisoner."

"It wasn't a very Jedi-like thing to do." Ahsoka commented uncomfortably, she didn't like it when her Master allowed himself to be dictated with his emotions. It made her uncomfortable.

"I think we established a long time ago that I'm not a very good Jedi, Snips." Yes, but only now was Ahsoka beginning to see his unjedi-ness and unorthodox ways.

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**AN:Please review, you guys motivate me. Btw, Happy New Years, I'd rather be writing for you guys than going to parties anyway :D  
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	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Just wanted to say to 'ancientdragonduelist' that Ahsoka's attempted kidnapping was so easy for reasons that are more complicated than they seem, which will be revealed later on in the story.**

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Chapter 11

Several weeks had passed since the incident with the man, who they unsurprisingly found out was an associate of the prisoners, infiltrating the Temple – again. And, since her attempted kidnapping, Anakin had stuck to Ahsoka like glue, spending more time at their apartment at the temple in just one week then he had in his entire career.

Ahsoka had noticed her Master becoming more and more distressed as time passed by, choosing to visit the Chancellor as lot more than previously, however – due to his trust issues – he would always force her to come along with him and then make her sit outside and wait for him, sometimes they would be hours. It was rather frustrating to say the least.

It would be a lie to say that the past few weeks had no redeeming points though, Ahsoka had found that – whilst it still had a fragile undertone – her bond with her Master felt fuller and stronger than it had in months, perhaps due to the fact that he was around her more and she didn't feel quite as neglected.

The Council had decided that Ahsoka and Anakin would be taken out of the action for a few months, as her Master had new responsibilities - as he was the Chancellor's own personal representative on the Council – and they had deemed her a target of the prisoner and his friend's organisation, which they found out to be called Vipera, a relatively unknown group that had just cropped up and begun causing trouble earlier in the year. They had made quite the name for themselves and they were capable, they had proven this by infiltrating the temple, not once but twice.

Ahsoka couldn't help but feel dejected, she was so easily captured, wasn't she supposed to be a Jedi? Well, she was pretty pathetic one if she got her ass handed to her by a civilian.

Ahsoka furrowed her brow, although, now she thought about it, that man wasn't a typical citizen. He was a fantastic fighter, that much was obvious, but – what she hadn't noticed in the heat of the battle – was that he fought her _too_ easily. Looking back on it, he didn't seem to struggle at all; in fact, it was as if he knew _exactly_ where she was going to strike and exactly what she was going to do.

And how did he know where she was, he had slipped in through a window. The temple was absolutely massive and it was almost impossible to figure out what window belonged to what room from the outside. Something was very wrong. She could feel it, something told her that – maybe – this man wasn't quite as mortal as she thought he was.

Ahsoka slumped boredly through the halls of the temple, confined there by her overbearing Master, she looked at the sky high columns in the place she'd once thought of as open and free, now they made her feel like she was living in a prison.

She was Togruta, she couldn't go on like this, she couldn't remain cooped up inside, it wasn't natural for her. It wasn't. Slowly, but surely, it was driving her crazy; she could feel her mind boiling in the confinements of the walls of the temple. She couldn't stand it.

The man who had attempted to kidnap her had been identified as one Carcino Homille, with throngs of murders and charges of assault lined up behind him, no-one had been too upset when her Master reported he was killed, although he neglected to inform the Jedi of who gave the order for his brains to be blown out, he simply told them the clone open fired, because he was considerate like that. The clone wasn't disciplined, though, in fact, he was commended for 'ridding the streets of such a monster', it was alright for them, they weren't the ones that had his blood splattered all over them.

The prisoner, Cashell Marcus, was also given the same charges and was due to be executed by firing squad, by order of the chancellor, and as much as she believed he deserved it, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of something unidentifiable – guilt, perhaps? – no matter what they did, she couldn't bring herself to agree with the idea of killing a human being. Unlike her Master, whose eagerness for the execution was slightly disturbing.

Being a target was no fun at all, she missed being free to move about, but – according to her Master – she had to stay with an adult at all times, however – in a fit of teenage rebelliousness – she had purposely chosen to leave their quarters without being overseen, just to prove to him that the columns weren't about to jump to life and kidnap her.

Ahsoka sat down on a window ledge, looking out at the city pensively, when had things all gone to pot? She had been targeted by a crime organisation whom they had no information about, one that was so easily able to infiltrate the temple, and that's what scared people most, that they so easily found their way in.

She had to admit, she was slightly frightened, these people had made capturing her their top priority when she had Cashell captured and arrested, and then Carcino was killed because of her and her Master, so she was pretty sure that hadn't earned her any brownie points with them.

"Ahsoka Tano?" A youngling, no older than 11 or 12, uncertainly approached her.

"That's me." Ahsoka hopped down from the window ledge with ease, awaiting the approaching child.

"I have a package for you, there was no sender's address." The youngling held out the small package in question.

"Have you scanned it for any dangers?" Came Ahsoka's weary query, she'd been down this road before, nothing good ever came of mysterious packages.

"Yes, I _am_ an official temple post regulator" The young boy sounded offended, before adding – in a haughty tone, "It's _basic_ protocol."

"Of course." Ahsoka stifled a laugh at the snooty boy.

Ahsoka accepted the small brown package, turning it over in her hands, well, if experience told her anything, it was too light to be a bomb. That was a relief. And, ruling bomb off the list, it only left 397 ways the packages could bring about death…or serious injury/maiming.

The youngling haughtily walked away, head in the air as if her comments had been a serious insult, Ahsoka shook her head in amusement, she had never been _that_ bad. She didn't know what Skyguy had to complain about, she could've been the poster girl for 'angels of the universe.' There was no way she'd ever been that obnoxious and snooty.

Ahsoka ripped open the edge of the package; beyond curious at what was inside, as a Jedi Padawan she couldn't quite say she was frequented with packages, especially since Jedi weren't allowed personal possessions, so this was quite exciting for her. Who knew, maybe she had won the lottery or something?

A small datachip fell out, so much for the lottery, uninteresting and small in size, nothing special. She stopped for a moment, wondering if her Master had ordered her a new one, after all hers never really survived past the first day let alone long enough to store information. She had an urge to plug it into a datapad, an unexplainable urge to see if there was any data already on it.

Ahsoka turned carefully and slowly, her eyes still fixated on the small chip, and began to walk back towards her quarters. Maybe she should check this thing out.

* * *

Almost half an hour later, Ahsoka finally made it back to her room, having taken extra caution to avoid bumping in any Master or Knights who knew of her restriction to her quarters unless accompanied by an adult - her Master was such a bother - she didn't need or want a lecture and she definitely didn't need someone grassing her up to her Master.

She sat back, datapad in hand as the chip loaded up and began to transfer information, slowly filling a small loading bar. A slight ping erupted from the machine when the chip had successfully transferred the data.

A small box screen popped up onto her desktop and then a room suddenly appeared on the screen.

"Ahsoka Tano."

Ahsoka furrowed her brow slightly, disturbed by the voice that had just called her name. Maybe she was just going crazy; she had warned people it would happen when she'd started to forget her lightsaber somewhat frequently. Yeah, that must be it, she was just going crazy. No-one was calling her name.

She looked down at her datapad, the small black box was still invading the screen, refusing to close when she touched the small 'x' in the corner of the box, it was just being stubborn.

She jumped back in her seat, terrified beyond belief, when a bearded man suddenly appeared in the box, unkempt and scruffy to say the least. His hair, which could have once been brown, was black from dirt and matted together from neglect, giving him a rough fearful appearance, his eyes were an icy blue, as cold as the wintry temperatures on Hoth. His face was adjourned by numerous scars, all telling their own tales, each one adding this fear that garnered in her gut when she looked at him. Whoever he was, he was important, she knew that. Some big underworld boss perhaps?

"I'm sure you've figured out that this chip is acting as a link for us to have a secure little conference."

Ahsoka sat up, lifting her datapad a little higher so she could be at eye-level with the man, forcing her fear down, it would do her no good letting him know that she was frightened. That would not help her at all, nope, she would be assertive, she was a Jedi. Jedi don't get scared.

"Who are you?" She demanded of the man intruding on her desktop.

"That is none of your concern, whilst others may have told you of all their plans when you confront them, you will find I am not that stupid." He told her, cruelly mocking the teen.

Ahsoka's eyes flittered to the tattoo peeking out of his scraggy off-white shirt, the coiling art that seemed familiar to her. She couldn't see all of it but the little she did see was familiar, the coiled up snake, looking ready to viciously jump out and mercilessly attack. Where had she seen it before? It hit her like a speeder: Cash, Cash had that exact same tattoo, if her memory served her correctly.

"Are you with Vipera?" She surmised intelligently, assuming the tattoo was some form of mark for their little gang.

"I see you're more resourceful then I thought, you will be of great use to me."

"Forget it, whatever scheme you have cooked up." Ahsoka told the man irritably. "If you're a part of that organisation then you are an enemy of mine."

"I'm not just a part of the organisation, I own it."

"Then I will hunt you down and kill you." Ahsoka clenched her fists as her anger raged. "You set your goons on my friends, younglings, and I'll make sure you receive justice."

"There's your assassin's spirit, you will prove even more helpful than any of us anticipated, there's more darkness in you than expected."

Ahsoka bristled; shaking slightly from her annoyance before she regained control, wanting to prove him wrong about her, she was nothing like an assassin, how dare he say that there was even an inkling of darkness within her. She was a Jedi for peats sake; she was a member of a light-inclined group.

She frowned, folding her arms over her chest before snapping. "What do you want?"

"Your service, I believe that your Jedi skills could be of great help to my business." Came his simple reply, being unforthcoming with information.

"What service?"

"That will only be divulged when necessary."

"What if I refuse?" Ahsoka asked boldly, her eyes glaring into the screen.

The image faded out, replaced by a video recording of…Padme's apartment? Well that wasn't a very good threat, if the Senator wasn't even there and they planned to blow the place up then she didn't mind. As long as the place was deserted she didn't care, as long as Padme was safe it didn't disturb her.

Ahsoka was about to speak and tell the man of her unimpressed state but seconds later Padme walked into the screen, followed by…her Master? Yes, that was definitely him, Ahsoka's mouth dropped open a little, his arms were coiled around her waist as he whispered in her ear, eliciting chuckles from the Senator.

"Rest assured." The voice talked over the video recording. "This is all live; looks like your precious Master has some skeletons in the closet." She could sense he wasn't lying, it was live.

He waited a moment before continuing to speak, playing on the young girl's attachment to her guardian. "I have men waiting at his position as we speak. It would take very little for me to press the button next to me, the button which will instruct them to kill him."

"You leave him alone." Ahsoka growled instantaneously, baring her teeth in an animalistic way. "If anything happens to either of them then I'll kill you myself."

"You help me and I help you." He chuckled darkly. "But if you refuse I will have him slaughtered."

"You won't, he's too strong, he'll easily fight you guys off." Ahsoka replied cockily. "You won't stand a chance."

In protest to that statement, the force let out a flash of warning, a electric-like pulse that jolted through Ahsoka's body in forewarning.

"Do you really want to put that to test?" The tone of voice in which the man phrased that to her scared the young Togruta, it made her blood run cold, he knew something she didn't. He had something up his sleeve. "Are you willing to sacrifice the closest thing you've ever had to a family? You've underestimated us before and all that came from it was death, are you really going to risk it, little girl?"

He had her there, he knew exactly where to strike, exactly what to say and do to get her to conform. Ahsoka liked to think she was an alright Jedi, she wasn't selfish, she wasn't fearful for her own life…but the lives of her friends, no, she couldn't ever risk them. She guessed she had a bit of an attachment problem; she couldn't help but become bonded to the people around her…her Master, Padme…all her friends.

Like Master, like Padawan, apparently…judging by that video.

Ahsoka had sworn to protect him, especially after all these awful visions, what if she didn't comply and they killed Padme? Her Master would lose it, which could be how he turned, if she didn't help them it might lead them to that awful future she was seeing. She couldn't let that happen.

Ahsoka watched, tears brimming in her eyes, as her Master kissed the Senator – the seemingly pregnant senator – putting his hands on her cheeks affectionately before kissing her again. They looked so happy; she hadn't seen her Master smile like that in so long. She couldn't just let him die, she'd never be able to live with herself. Her Master was the closest thing she'd ever had to a father; she couldn't lose him, not him.

A treacherous tear rolled down her face, they'd die, if she didn't do what this man wanted, he would kill them just as easily as he murdered her friends, with no second thought. She couldn't put them at risk. Not ever.

"You…I…alright…just…fine." She conceded, wiping her tears away quickly." You just leave them alone, you leave them alone."

The video feed of her Master and Padme disappeared, replaced by the man, a cruel look of taunting mockery plastered across his face as he regarded the teen. He had won, they both knew this, he'd threatened her with the one thing she couldn't stand losing and, just as predicted, she had folded.

She had sold her soul to the devil, all to protect her Master and Padme.

"You go to your Jedi, you tell anyone and we'll kill them both." He warned her darkly, all humour gone from his face, misinterpreting her silence for indecisiveness.

"I won't." Ahsoka sniffled slightly, trying to hide her fear underneath a cold demeanour, hiding behind a mask of anger. "You keep away from them, or I'll kill you."

The man only smiled, a scary looked which seemed demented and twisted on his scarred face. "You can try, my dear, meet me in the 'Rusty Cabin', you have 30 minutes."

Then the screen cut off.

What the hell is a Rusty Cabin, was the first thing to run through Ahsoka's mind, followed by her strong and assertive belief that she completely and utterly screwed, if they didn't kill her then her Master certainly would.

But she couldn't refuse him, she just couldn't risk them. It was against her strict upbringing but she found that she had an urge to protect them. This was unprecedented. She was beginning to understand why the council forbade attachments, in the end all they brought you was pain and difficulty.

The force seemed to have taken a worried air to it, as if it too feared for the lives of the Senator and her Master, the force seemed to have Vipera listed as a significant threat. But why? Were they really that powerful? And if they were, how? How did an organisation like that hold a candle to the Jedi order?

Ahsoka had a feeling that Vipera could do more than hold a candle to the skills of the order, deep down she knew that they were something new – different – and they were most certainly something to be feared.

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**Please review :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Hey, anyone feel like being a beta for me?**

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Chapter 12

Ahsoka slung on her cloak, wrapping it around herself to conceal her entire body, she walked into her bedroom swiftly, grabbing a small bag before throwing it carelessly over her shoulder, hoping that it contained everything she'd need should things go bad; not that things weren't bad already.

She was beyond rock bottom; there was rock bottom, 30 feet of crap, then her…she was in it deep this time and her Master couldn't bail her out. She'd just have to do what her new _boss_ said until he had no use for her, she couldn't afford to put her Master at risk, not now.

Ahsoka felt at her belt, checking for her lightsaber before she seemed herself ready to go. She stopped suddenly, her eyes catching sight of a picture frame on her bedside table, an old fashioned frame, from a time before holo's, that held a little snapshot of a perfect moment in her life. It was the only personal object she had in her relatively empty room.

The picture was of a man and a young girl, a Togruta. The man had a sort of boyish charm, he had an arm around the petite teens waist and had lifted her off the floor slightly, his face forever captured as youthful and happy.

The girl had a playful air about her, her arm lazily draped over the man's shoulders with a mischievous expression on her face. She looked kind of familiar but Ahsoka didn't really know what had happened to her, but she did know that girl used to be her, back before everything got so messed up, back when he was Skyguy and she was Snips. What had happened since then? How did they get from there to here?

She knew the answer, secrets and lies, they had both kept things from the other and it had torn them apart, for they could both unconsciously feel the mistrust that had attacked their bond, prying at it and attempting to rip them apart and shake the very foundations of their friendship.

This whole deal with the Senator was only the tip of the ice. Ahsoka felt like that was one of the major issues, though, but she wasn't upset by the fact that her Master was married – force knows he deserves to be happy – what really irked her, weighed down on her heart, was that her Master didn't have enough trust in her to tell her. Sure, she understood that he had no obligation to do so but it would've felt nice to know that someone in this big galaxy remembered her; the little Togruta that was swamped by her Master's shadow, standing in his boots that she could never hope to fill. She wished he would've told her, she didn't want to find out this way…it hurt so much.

Was there anyone out there that cared about her? About what she thought? She was a real sentient being with thoughts and feelings, just because she wasn't human didn't mean she couldn't get hurt. Today had only proven that.

Ahsoka picked up the picture, wishing so greatly she could go back to that time, when the war seemed like a game and, to her, the galaxy seemed so innocent and pure. How she wished she could go back. She looked at the young blonde man, she could never pinpoint exactly when she had started loving her Master – he was like the brother she'd always needed – but she knew that her love for him was going to be her undoing. This was her punishment for breaking the code, she was destined to slowly break the bond they shared, to rip it apart until it was bloody and destroyed.

She put it face down, unable to look at it any longer, before she span on her heel and turned out of the room, leaving the apartment all together without so much as a glance back at the disorganised room, droid parts still littered the floor, just like when she had first moved in, it was as if nothing had changed. Which wasn't true, at all, everything had changed…including her.

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Outside, in the cool breezy hallway, she spared a glance back at her Master's door, knowing that there was a chance she would never see it again, there was a chance she might not return after this, and it was slowly ripping her apart inside. She couldn't bring herself to cry though, it was her own fault she was in this mess, she didn't deserve the reprieve that was crying…no, she deserved to suffer from her pent up emotions.

This was all her fault

Ahsoka bowed her head slightly, her eyes lingering on the place she called home. Would she ever return? Would she be killed tonight? Questions streamed through her mind as automatic as breathing. Would her Master wonder what had happened to her? She didn't think she could do this, she had to tell him, she couldn't keep this from him, it would destroy them both.

Ahsoka faltered

Breathing heavily.

Eyes clouding over with tears.

No, she couldn't tell…he would be killed. Liar or not, her Master was still important to her, he always would be and she _knew_ she'd _never_ be able to live with herself if she knew he had died because of her idiocy. She would do her duty…for her Master. For Skyguy.

Unsurely and shakily she shook her head before she did the hardest thing she'd ever had to do, she walked away, her eyes set ahead and not looking back, too ashamed to see what she had left behind.

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With minutes to spare she entered the pub, her small hands wrapped around the brim of her hood, so to hide her identity. She looked around unsurely, feeling out of place in the seedy bar. Eyes lingered on her, watching her every move, suspicion running through the room like air, bouncing off the walls. She shouldn't be here.

Ahsoka steeled herself, no was not the time to wimp out, she was much too involved now, she'd let herself get entangled in this mess, she'd wove too many webs of deceit, she couldn't back out now. It was too late for her.

She jumped when someone grabbed her elbow, leaning to whisper to her."What are you doing here?"

"Alex." Ahsoka let out a short breath.

"Answer me, you're not supposed to be here." The young man shook her lightly

Ahsoka turned to look at the hooded figure, her eyes lightening up a little, some of the cloudy fear leaving them. She couldn't help the smile that spread over her face, although he couldn't see it, he was here, he was back.

"Alex." She mumbled again. "You're back."

"What are you doing here? In this bar?" Alex hissed at her "Do you know how dangerous this place is?"

"Yeah, let go." She attempted to pull out of his grasp.

"If you don't start talking I'm going to call Anakin." He threatened, pinching her arm slightly. "I see you hop out of your speeder and come in here and I can't help but wonder why, what would a little girl like you want in a seedy bar like this? Do you know that gangs favour this bar? Big, mean gangs that like little girls"

"Not now." She hissed at him, snatching her arm out of his grasp. "Please, trust me. I have to do something, you don't understand."

Ahsoka turned to face the young man, unable to see much of him underneath the large cloak that covered him – his hood covering his head – she almost laughed at the two slight bumps at the side where his, still proportionately small, wings were curled up. It _was_ him.

He'd been off planet for almost a year, doing espionage jobs for the Jedi, she hadn't really seen him since she was kidnapped by Bane and Dooku. Her Master might've rejoiced when the boy had announced he was leaving but she had felt like a little part of her was missing. He was her friend and he did more than just offer her companionship; he understood her, he got her, he was the only person in the entire galaxy that she believed understood her.

"Ahsoka?" His voice had a speckle of worry laced on it.

She let out a small relieved sigh, he _was_ back. She cursed her luck, of all the places he could've found her, it had to be here.

"Not now." She reiterated forcefully before taking a step back and glaring at him, daring him to try and stop her.

"You'd better tell me everything." Came the murmured response from the annoyed teen before he departed through the door in a spilt second, leaving behind a very worried Togruta.

She couldn't tell him anything, not a thing, they'd kill him too; they'd kill him and her Master and Padme. She cursed her luck once again, by attempting to protect her, Alex had ended up being drawn into her treacherous web of lies and danger. She'd have to come up with a plausible lie in the meantime, tell him of some threat that she didn't want to involve her Master with.

When a hand grabbed her arm a second time she almost lit her lightsaber, especially when the force sent her a flash of warning, however, her self-control managed to take over and rationally realise taking out her lightsaber in this bar was asking for trouble.

"Are you alone?" A rough voice asked, very different to the voice of the man she had spoken with via video feed.

"Yes." Ahsoka whispered in reply. "Where's your boss?"

"I shall take you to him, follow me." The man let go of her elbow before quickly darting through the bar and through a door at the far side.

Ahsoka followed him hesitantly, every part of her screamed that this was a bad idea, fearful for what would happen but, if she was to die, better her than her Master. She knew that entering agreements with these gangsters would do her no good, and she'd never be able to escape servitude, they'd continue to threaten the people she loved.

She pushed the old-fashioned swinging door open; frowning slightly at the stairs in front of her, their base of operations was above a bar? This looked promising.

The man waited patiently for her at the top of the stairs, leaning against the door behind him, only when she was too at the top did he key in a code, gesturing for her to enter, following closely behind her when she did.

Around 30 people sat around a sole table, spanning the length of the room, all doing their own little thing, ranging from poking around with datapads to small games of Sabacc. Not for the first time since agreeing to this whole thing, did she feel fear and was forced to remind herself why she was doing this.

It was for her friends…her family; she couldn't be the reason why they died.

Ahsoka's spine tingling with something, something unidentifiable, something that was strangely familiar. She couldn't make out what it was but she knew she had felt that strange sensation before but she couldn't pinpoint it. It was like trying to recall a taste or smell.

All eyes turned to her.

Ahsoka shuddered slightly at all the eyes fixed on her like an animal in a zoo, leering at her suggestively or looking at her in disgust, the reactions varied. She held up her head proudly, trying to look brave, she would not let the monsters see her frightened; she'd give them a smile. She wouldn't let them know she was intimidated.

"Ah, I'm so pleased you could make it." The man she had talked with, who she really needed to get a name for, approached her. A taunting look on his face.

"This is your base of operations." Ahsoka looked around in disgust. "A bar?"

"No, of course not." The man laughed at her rudely. "I own this place but never use it for meetings, we usually meet in headquarters but we aren't stupid enough to show you it, we may be working together but we don't trust you."

"We aren't working together." Ahsoka snapped before she inclined her head away from the man snobbishly.

"Then go, if you don't wish to work with us." Ahsoka did not move. "You see, you have chosen to be here."

"I chose nothing."

The man walked away from the teen, ignoring her comments, he slowly walked over to the large table, looking a small square object on it, which Ahsoka couldn't make out properly. He glanced at it for a few moments, irking the impatient young girl before he picked up, what she established to be a datapad, reading it closer.

"I did not call you here to argue about your choices." The man walked back over to her, datapad in hand.

"I never had a choice." Ahsoka shouted at him. "You threaten my friends, heck, you killed my closest friend! If I actually had a choice, trust me, I would be far away from here."

"I never ordered the attack on the temple." The man argued back. "I never forbad it, but it wasn't _my_ idea."

"You disgust me." Ahsoka snarled.

"Here, you'll receive more instructions soon." He gave her the blank datapad, ignoring her last comment. "They will be relayed to you through this, I expect you to follow the orders to the letter."

"You can't just say that" Ahsoka replied indignantly. "I don't work on your schedule; I have a life you know."

"I don't care."

"You're not going to give me anymore information." It wasn't even a question; the man was never very forthcoming.

"From when you receive your instructions, you will have one week, or bye-bye Skywalker. How's that for information?" The man mockingly held up his hand, waving slightly whilst childishly pouting and pretending to wipe a tear from his eye.

Ahsoka saw no way out of this one, she had to give him what he wanted, he wouldn't be swayed by arguing or reason, in fact, it would just annoy him. "I'll get what you want."

"Good girl." He taunted her. "Do not fail me, child."

The man began to walk away but a stroke of bold bravery, or maybe it was just a suicide impulse, hit Ahsoka full-force. If these guys were going to make her life difficult then she could play at that game too, and in a fit of teenage rebellion, every instinct of her lashing out at the man trying to control her, she opened her big gob.

"You know, you guys must be pretty pathetic." Ahsoka smirked at the man whose head had snapped around to glare at her. "I mean it's pretty shameful, recruiting a teenager to do your dirty work fo-"

Ahsoka's head snapped around and she stumbled, stars in her eyes and her feet tangling underneath her, causing her to crash heavily to the ground. She caught herself, cursing when her wrists shook underneath the force of her weight.

She gingerly touched her burning cheek from where he had backhanded her, feeling the burn that radiated off the throbbing site, which was probably glowing red like a furnace. She shook her head a little to clear it from the strength of the blow, he had a good slap, that was for sure. She decided she didn't want to get on the wrong side of it again. A particularly painful throb of hurt from her cheek made her agree with that statement wholly.

Maybe, mouthing off to this manic, temperamental, bi-polar man wasn't the best idea she'd had.

"You'll learn your place." He turned away from her and walked off

Then she pushed herself to her feet and left, knowing when she was excused, her eyes hard and unfeeling but her heart heaved with worry, this was impossible, how would she do this? She looked at the blank datapad, willing it to show her a way out. It didn't.

* * *

**Please review**

**Just a warning, I'm starting my exams next week and I might not update much more than once a week until they're over. (they're only going on for just over one week for me so it's not too long)**


	13. Chapter 13

**I know. I'm a bad person.**

**Sorry for making you guys wait  
**

Chapter 13

Ahsoka sat patiently in her seat, sipping from a glass of blue milk patiently, managing to keep her worry and anxiety under control. Her big blue eyes seemed dull, they didn't have that same twinkle to them, and they were downcast and avoidant, avoidant of the other person in the room, his eyes watching her like a hawk, following her every movement and scrutinising her, suspicion rooted deeply in his blue eyes.

The silence seemed to overcome the pair, suffocating them as if it had a hold of their throats, forcefully invading. It felt wrong.

"You've changed." The young boy remarked, so casually that he could've been speaking of the latest gossip.

"That's what happens when you grow up." Ahsoka put her drink down, more forcefully than she needed to. "Some of us don't have the luxury of decelerated aging."

Alexander glared at the young Togruta sat across from him, putting his own drink down and folding his arms over his chest in annoyance, regarding the girl with disapproving eyes that made her slightly uncomfortable. The soft blue eyes she was used to seeing seemed to have an icy glint to them, a sharper edge.

"I was right, you _have_ changed." He remarked coolly before shaking his head slightly and furrowing his brow. "I don't like it."

"That makes two of us." Ahsoka stood up and walked over to the large window, refusing to make eye contact, keeping her head bowed and eyes downcast.

She didn't like keeping things from him. This was Alex, he was one of the best friends she'd ever had, he saw through the whole 'Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano' façade, he saw straight through to her soul, he saw plain old 'Soka'. She couldn't stand that guilty feeling that accompanied the lies, every one she weaved seemed to make it more pronounced, a delicate weave that could come falling down in a mere second, attaching itself to every silky lie-filled thread.

"I don't have any ties to the order, Ahsoka." Alexander too stood, but chose to remain by the couch, looking slightly out of place in the domestic setting. "I'm employed by the Republic, I just happen to work alongside the Jedi a lot, whatever you tell me will be in confidence, I don't have any obligations to tell the council."

Ahsoka stood still and silently for several minutes, which seemed to pass like hours, staring out the window at the little specks in the distance, flying about carelessly. How she wished she could do the same. How she wished everything could go back to normal, that she had never got entangled in this treacherous tango with the murderous group.

When did things get so…awful? Ahsoka snorted to herself, well she could answer that easily, it was about the time Blissany died, she took a small part of her with her; she took her innocence with her. It had been slaughtered alongside her, and she'd never quite been the same after, not quite as snippy. Alex was right; she _had_ changed.

"Talk to me." Came his distressed plea before his voice took on a more annoyed tone. "I can't help you if you don't speak up, come on, don't be shy."

"I can't." Came her quiet reply. "I just can't."

"You can't or won't?" Alexander walked over to her, stopping a few feet away, his eyes fixed on the back of her head, waiting for an answer.

"I _won't_." Ahsoka turned to face him, a feral expression on her face, resisting the urge to childishly throw a tantrum. "You don't know what it's like; you're never here. You don't understand."

"Oh, why's that?" Alexander's tone became louder and more annoyed.

"Because you are allowed to have attachments, I'm not." Ahsoka snapped at him, her eyes flashing with anger, she pointed an accusing finger at him. "You never have to go through the dilemma of feeling like a failure when your attachments dictate to you…you have it easy."

"I have it easy?" Alexander let out a haughty laugh, sounding cruel and mocking to even his own ears. "You get a cushy life in the temple, I've been skulking the darkest points of the galaxy for the last year trying to find information for you and your order so you guys have an easier job. You dare say I have it easy?"

The pair stood silently, glaring at each other, both with identical stubborn expressions on their faces and heads held high out of pride, neither wanting to admit defeat, neither were ready to admit they might be wrong.

There was that guilt creeping up on her. She tried to tell herself it was for the best but, even in her own mind, it sounded false. She'd never felt so hopeless. She'd lost her grip on her own life, and was slowly losing her mind trying to get it back…but she couldn't, she wasn't in control anymore, they were.

"Alex." Ahsoka was the first to give in. "Just trust me….everything I'm doing is to protect people, if I don't then people will die."

Alexander ran his hand through his messy array of shaggy blonde hair before letting out a huffy sigh. "I don't like this."

"Neither do I but I have to do my duty, to protect my friends." Ahsoka's tone sounded final but Alex didn't seem to be able to pick up on the subtle warning and the animalistic tone in which the Togruta delivered it.

"You always end up getting hurt, though." Alexander protested. "You always manage to put yourself in the medbay, and your Master will pluck me if anything happens to you…again."

"That was once!" Came Ahsoka's low growl, sounding feral to her friend but he was not deterred in the slightest.

"I know for a fact, you've been admitted to the medbay before." He taunted before putting a mock-thoughtful look on his face, putting a finger to his chin as he speculated. "Maybe, you should have a loyalty card."

"Funny." Ahsoka's tone told him she thought it was anything but.

Alexander bit the inside of his cheek for a second, before. "So, where is your Master?"

"Out." Came Ahsoka's avoidant reply, she did not want to get into this…not with him.

Out, meaning at the Senator's, she had no doubt he was over there with his secret wife, deceiving everyone around him, including her. Although, she couldn't bring herself to hate him for it, he deserved happiness and if that was with the Senator then so be it. Who was she to deny him what he'd always wanted?

She wished he hadn't of lied though, it stung a bit, knowing that he was going about lying to her, even now. She felt like he didn't trust, of course he had every right not to trust her but he didn't even know about all the bother she was in and he already didn't trust her. That stung, she felt a little betrayed, a little useless. Why did he never tell her?

She wished she could hate him for his lies but she just couldn't bring herself to. She was mad at him; she was annoyed at him, but hate? No, that was beyond her ability.

Alexander made an understanding noise, running his fingers through his, already messy, hair out of nervous habit. He then sat back down on the couch, slumping back into the comfy cushions, making himself at home. He crossed his legs underneath him and stared up at her, looking more like a child than some old, yet young, member of an ancient race.

"Does he ditch you a lot?" The question was innocent enough but Ahsoka could sense the underlying meaning, he was questioning her Master's credibility. She swelled up a little with anger, no-one got to do that but her, it was _her_ job to insult him and question his abilities at every turn. Alex had no right.

Her Master and Alex seemed to have a long standing rivalry, a mutual dislike for each other, she was sure that the only thing keeping them from ripping each other apart was her and the fact that she would slaughter the both of them. She had to admit she was amused by the rivalry, after all, if the pair stopped bickering for just a second they would see they have things in common. They didn't quite realise how similar they were, both were stubborn, hard headed and loyal to a fault.

Alex raised his eyebrows in a smug manner, believing to have won the argument between them due to her lack of responsiveness.

"What my Master does is none of _your_ concern." Ahsoka said through clench teeth. "You're my friend Alex, not my mother, stop being such a fuss. Just because he's my Master doesn't mean he can't have a life, I'm fine here."

"You're all alone, though." Alex insisted. "Not fair, is it? Him leaving you."

"I'm not alone, you're here." Ahsoka lent back against the wall, folding her arms over her chest lazily and regarding him with an amused expression. "Who are you? The child protection agency? My Master has things to do, I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

"You're 16." He pointed out.

"Exactly, I'm old...practically handicapped" Ahsoka replied with a smug grin on her face

"Yeah, 16 is the epitome of old age, how could I forget?" She preferred Alex when he was being a sarcastic witty little _Koochoo_, she already had her Master worrying about her enough for everyone, she didn't need Alex to jump on the band wagon. "You know, you don't have to do everything alone. No-one will think any less of you for asking for help."

Ahsoka sighed; they were back to this again. "Alex, I can handle it."

She couldn't. It was an obvious fact; she could in no way handle the enormity of the task she had taken up, the mess she had managed to get herself into but what else could she do. If she told Alex, she had no doubt that he would be killed and, if she was that unlucky, he would inform Anakin and the whole point of helping these scumbags was to protect him.

This was her problem; she wouldn't allow anyone else to get involved, no matter how much they begged, she couldn't have another friend's death on her conscience. She would just have to put her trust in the force, and pray it protected her and saw her through these dark times, and they were dark indeed. She would need the light of the force to guide her through the upcoming times, she had a feeling they were going to push her, and her Master, to their mental, physical and emotional limits. But it was worth it.

And who knows? By protecting her friends like this, keeping them away from the dangers of the organisation, she might keep them from rolling into that awful future she had seen. With that as her reasoning, Ahsoka strengthened her resolve; she was right not to tell anyone. It would be better in the long run.

Alexander watched his friend with weary eyes, this was going to end up being like last time, and what were the chances she would escape death twice? He feared for her, he truly did, she was swimming in dangerous waters without gauging the current, she was either in trouble, about to get into trouble or drawing out a gigantic plan to create it. She was a calamity with feet and there a storm approaching, he could feel it. Whatever she was doing, it could hardly be good.

* * *

Ahsoka flew out of bed, her eyes wide and fearful, panting and looking around frantically, as if she was going to be attacked. She brought her arms around her slim figure, hugging herself, looking for comfort. She could find none.

Not again, not again, not again. She thought the dreams had gone, they had to have gone, she couldn't deal with them now…not as well as everything else that was going on. Ahsoka shivered, not from the cold but from fear, a deep fear that echoed through her body.

She'd watched her Master burn again, and it was just as awful as the last time she'd seen it, just as horrific and sickening.

Ahsoka scratched at her head, her fingertips rubbing at her delicate lekku, she scrubbed at her head with her fingers as if, like in the shower, she could scrub away the awful images, scratch them away from her brain…but they remained, as well as the angry red marks that started to crop up all over her lekku.

She was going crazy; she couldn't just bare it, his scream echoed through her head. She had to find a way to stop it, she just had to.

It strengthened her resolve; she had to protect her Master, at any cost. The dreams were awful enough, even though she knew they were just dreams, what if by not helping the gang, a snowball effect began which ultimately lead to the dream of her Master burning becoming a reality? How could she possibly live knowing that, by not helping the gang, she had condemned her Master?

She had to protect her Master, she knew that now, she had to do as they said, following every order to the letter. She would not put him, or herself, through that.

Ahsoka felt like the whole galaxy was against her, she had never felt she alone in her life, she'd never felt so hopeless and dejected. It was as if there was no-one on her side, as if everyone had forgotten she existed, they ignored the fact that she was just a teenage girl, that lived, breathed, ate and felt. She was no soldier, she was just a kid, a kid in way over head.

She had tried to do the right thing, by force she had tried, but she didn't know what was right and wrong anymore. She knew it wasn't right to help this organisation; that was for sure, but was it right to just sit by and let her Master die? Ahsoka didn't know, she just didn't know, it all felt so impossible, so horrendous.

So she did the only thing she could, she cried, she cried for the sake of it – simply because she didn't know what else she could do – and she didn't stop, not because she wanted to but rather because she couldn't stop. Everything was too much for her, so those quiet little sobs continued, quiet little sobs that no-one ever heard.

* * *

**Sorry about the wait but I had to edit several parts of this and the next few chapters to fill in plot holes.**

**Now I'm going to beg for your review guys :D Please?  
**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The night dragged on, with the hours seeming to stretch into decades as the temperature plummeted, encouraging people to stay indoors on this unusually cold night. The undercity was practically deserted, with the odd dark figure walking by periodically. One in particular was of interest, the ambiguous cloaked figure looked like any other criminal or mercenary you would find in the slums but the tattoo on his neck, the coiling snake just hidden from view, seemed to emanate darkness, telling one to steer clear of him.

The man stealthily made his way through the normally packed streets, blending in with the shadows, melding into them like he belonged there. Well, one could say that was what he was, nothing more than a shadow, an assassin of the night.

He disappeared through a door, a rickety warehouse that seemed just about ready to collapse, like the smallest breeze would send it toppling over.

A glowing orange light emanated from a burning pile of wood, a primitive makeshift radiator fashioned by the man's associates, he approached the group huddled around it, playing cards and the like.

"What news do you bring?" A voice asked him when he stopped in front of them.

"Everything is ready; we just need the girl now." Came his raspy voice, scratchy and broken from years of use, the wear and tear of his life destroying it.

"And we shall have her." The man turned away from him, fiddling with a datapad beside him before, "Activation code 147."

The machine blipped to life, whirring and beeping with activity, beginning its program and simultaneously the whole of Coruscant did shiver and tremble, apprehensive of what they would wake to the next morning, the darkness that cloaked the galaxy seemed to become denser, the shroud expanded its hold. It was coming; the end of everything.

* * *

Ahsoka lay with her eyes open, not able to find sleep, it seemed to evade her tonight. Perhaps it too realised how much of a waste of time she was. At that thought, Ahsoka let out a huffy sigh, well, that confirmed it, she was definitely going crazy. Believing the world despised her was one thing, but sleep, that was just crazy, much like everything around her nowadays.

She reached out in the force, mainly out of boredom, letting her senses blanket over her environment as she took in everything she came into contact with, analysing it curiously before moving on. She could feel everything, even the chairs and tables, they all seemed to breathe and move with life, tingling with the force.

A bright light momentarily stunned her before she attuned her senses to it, the harsh glow becoming warmer and friendly as she analysed it, skirting around the edges of the light gently so not to disturb it. She'd recognise it anywhere, it was her Master, his force presence was different to anyone else's, it was so much stronger, emitting light to everyone else like a beacon for lost souls. Maybe that's all she needed in this trying time, a beacon to save her from the storm and bring her home..or blind her so much she crashed into the rocks.

But something was off, different, his signature was…tainted. It felt wrong.

She frowned slightly, looking at the dark tendrils that seemed to invade the white glow, the stringy lines of black which stood in stark contrast with her Master's bright aura, sure she'd seen shades of gray within his aura before – that was normal – but this blackness. It seemed to pulsate with darkness, feeding off of her Master's lovely brightness, garnering strength from him. She reached out mentally, inspecting the tendrils that coiled around in the light, deeply rooted into his psyche.

That wasn't there last time. Something had changed.

Her Master stirred slightly, his presence slowly coming to life, reaching out to her own in attempts to unconsciously indentify the invasion, still groggy with sleep and not quite awake yet. Ahsoka pulled out of her sensory status, pulling away from her Master, lest she wake him.

Anakin had decided to stay at the temple that night, claiming that he felt he had to for some inexplicable reason, he mentioned something about a feeling in his gut. She knew what that translated to: he didn't trust her, of course he didn't and for good reason.

She turned over fussily, making groaning noises as her neglected limbs were put to use, moving her about for the first time in hours. She couldn't sleep, not at a time like this, her mind was on red alert, as if it was expecting something to happen. She could feel something, deep in the force, it whispered to her like a siren, calling her. She could feel it in her very bones. Something was calling her, someone, somewhere, was trying to get her attention. And they had it.

"Activating program 147. Initiating…" A monotonous voice echoed around the room.

Ahsoka was on her feet in a second, her aching limbs forgotten and cast aside as she automatically went to high alert, years of Jedi training imprinted from birth innately taking control. She looked around cautiously, poised for an intruder.

Her eyes latched onto the disregarded datapad, given to her by that Vipera organisation, a small red light on it was blinking on and off, on and off, intriguing her like a bee to honey. She picked it up, staring curiously at it.

"DNA analysis confirmed. Subject: Ahsoka Tano, Age: 16 standard years."

Ahsoka dropped it when it began talking, clattering to the floor loudly to the adolescence's dismay, she looked over to the closed door, as if expecting to see her Master stood there already with that expression he saved especially for her when she was in trouble.

"Hush, you." She spoke to it, crouching down and waving her arms around frantically. "End program, shush, finish, stop. Shut up!"

The datapad made an obnoxious beeping tone, ringing in her ears like a never ending echo, before it lit up like a firework, the entire screen coming to life. Of course, tonight was the night she'd get her assignment, the night her Master had chosen to keep an eye on her. The force wanted her to get into trouble…again.

She picked it up, wearily this time, as if she expected it to sprout arms and attack her. She waited a few seconds to be safe just in case an attack was imminent, no such luck. She brought the datapad closer to her face, her eyes gluing onto the screen and reading the Aurebesh data.

She read through the information, her new mission, her eyes widening in horror as she read the task that was assigned to her. Oh no. She was dead; if she got caught she'd be exiled from the order and sold to Jabba the Hutt or something, or she'd be fed to Master Yoda. This was extremely very not good.

Ahsoka quickly picked up her stylus and a piece of flimsiplast, jotting down a quick, scrawled note to her Master, who would no doubt notice her absence should he wake, she had her fingers crossed for him to remain sleeping.

_Master,_

_Be back soon. Don't worry, will explain everything later. I'm sorry._

_Ahsoka_

Ahsoka looked over the note a second time before nodding, deciding the concise note was satisfactory enough before stalking out of her room and pinning it to his door, childishly holding her breath until she was away from the door, believing her short quiet inhalations would wake the slumbering Jedi. Even though, it was a possibility, after all, he _was_ the chosen one.

* * *

The young Togruta meaningfully strode down the street; her hood pulled over her bowed head, moving briskly through the dark, her overly long cloak tail billowing out behind her in the bitingly icy breeze, permeating her very bones as it whipped through the streets.

The girl shivered, wrapping her arms around herself instinctively. Had she had a choice, she would still be wrapped up, snuggled in her covers, safe from the harsh cold streets but rarely do things work out so well, not for her, it was rare that she got to have a relatively safe and normal life. Extremely rare.

Ahsoka frowned as a tickling sensation ran down her face, she brought her hand out of her warm sleeve to scratch away the sensation but faltered for a second when she felt liquid, she brought her hand away, staring at it in confusion. A tear? Were things really eating away at her that much, was she really becoming that weak?

Ahsoka shook her head furiously, she was not weak. She was just under pressure. She frantically wiped the tear away, furrowing her brow as she did so, she couldn't afford to show weakness, not now. She'd have to be strong, just like Anakin would be.

She had a mission to complete.

Ahsoka looked down, lifting her left hand up simultaneously, the compact datapad still glowing, letters danced across the screen as she came to a fork in the walkway.

'_Right at the fork'_ were the simple instructions given to her, Ahsoka looked down the darkest path, the one that exited the glow of the street lights, the dark abyss swarming in the shadowy street. So, creepy dark street, instructions from unknown person...this day just kept getting better and better, a rollercoaster of fun.

Why couldn't it be left? Really, why did she always end up having to go down the worst path?

Ahsoka swallowed, bidding the fear away with the gulp, before she determinedly stalked into the darkness. Fear be damned, she had a job to do, it was just a bit of darkness, she was a big girl. She could cope. Ahsoka looked down at the screen when it vibrated, letting her know of the updated instructions.

'_Converging on target, 30 metres. Retrieve package.' _The data streamed across the glowing blue screen.

Ahsoka looked up, the shape of a bulky official looking speeder becoming clearer as she approached. She tilted her head a little, narrowing her eyes when two men walked out of a door, the second carrying a small metal box.

The men wore official uniform, with the republic insignia proudly stitched on their backs. Oh dear. This most definitely qualified as treason, if she was taking from an official republic transport. That package could be – was most likely – highly confidential, it could be dangerous.

But, Ahsoka furrowed her brow a little, how important could it be if it only had two guards?

She had to do this. She had to save her friends. The image of Anakin and Padme flashed across her mind and the young Togruta steeled herself, she was doing this to protect them, she couldn't wimp out now.

* * *

**How epic was the Savage Oppress trilogy, and how great does next weeks episode look? I actually cannot wait. Please review dudes.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Ahsoka swiftly jumped back, barely avoiding the large fist that moved at impossibly fast speeds. Well this was a fine mess she had gotten herself into. The guard closest to her was subject to a powerful roundhouse kick from the teenager; sending him sprawling across the alley, crashing into the wall on the other side, remaining immobile.

Ahsoka let out a gasp of surprise when a leg connect with her stomach, sending her flying back, crashing heavily to the floor, arm across the grain floor. She could smell the blood long before she felt the small stream of it trickling down her arm.

The teen sprung to her feet, these men were trained…well trained. Honestly, if everyone was getting such good training then the Jedi really needed to rethink their own training regime, especially since she was getting her ass handed to her by a non-force sensitive.

Ahsoka gritted her teeth, ignoring the sting in her arm as she jumped into the air, her body coiled up like a snake, preparing to lash out and attack. The man put his weight on his back leg, getting ready to attack the approaching teen, his arms poised and ready, a small amount of anxiety and fear spread across his face. He had already realised this wasn't an ordinary teenager, in fact, she looked familiar.

As the man put her face to a name, – Ahsoka Tano – having seen the legendary Jedi on the holonet with her Master, he lost focus for a few seconds which was all Ahsoka needed as gravity sent her spiralling towards him; then they collided, a sickening crunch echoing about the alley, but no-one heard it.

All was quiet for several tense moments, nothing moving; even the alley itself seemed to hold its breath, it too wondering who would stand after that. The seconds dragged on until a quiet coughing could be heard, and the sounds of a bit of a kerfuffle, movement in the darkness as one of the fighters began to get up.

Ahsoka stood shakily, her legs wobbling under her own weight; that fight had taken more out of her than it should have. She looked over to the man, his eyes closed and skin clammy, her eyes flitted guilty to his arm, it was bent at a funny angle, contorted beyond recognition - one wouldn't have thought it was an arm – and the point where arm meet shoulder had been ripped open, blood pouring out of the horrific wound. His injuries were down to her, she had done that, to an innocent man nonetheless, she was monster.

Ahsoka swayed on her feet, stumbling back several paces, her back meeting the other side of the narrow alleys wall, she put an arm on it to steady herself before hunching over, relieving her stomach of her earlier meals.

What had she done? She looked over to the injured man again, his bloody arm seemed to accuse her, and for good reason. She was a monster. She vomited again, the image of the unconscious man, or what was left of him, assaulting her mind over and over again. She had done this. She was no better than a Separatist.

"Check in, Robins, over." A radio crackled.

Ahsoka walked back over to the man, tripping over her own feet, almost crashing to the floor as she approached him. She knelt next to him, taking the radio into her hand and pressing down the button, keeping her eyes on the other man who looked like he was slowly coming around.

"Officer down." She spoke into it with a calm voice that she didn't know she had, especially since he heart was pounding like a drum. "Uscru district, daring way."

He'd seen her, a nagging voice echoed through her head, he'd seen her and would tell. They'd both seen her. No-one could find out of her little escapade, no-one. But she couldn't kill them, no; she didn't have the heart to kill a living being, especially one that was only doing their job.

She put her hands on the man's forehead before forcefully invading his mind, routing around in there until she found the memories of herself, of the attack. She hastily wiped away her figure, leaving them with memories of a shadowed figure – unidentifiable to them – that attacked them. She repeated the action on the other man before picking up the package and leaving, her heart heavy and guilt ridden.

Ahsoka tossed the package over in her hands carelessly as she walked towards their meeting place, which hadn't been disclosed yet, as if one little box had caused her so much trouble. She looked at it with annoyed eyes, it would be so easy to destroy it, it was definitely more trouble than it was worth in her eyes.

What was it? That was the question she was turning over in her mind, this little package was obviously important, so why did they need it? What was so important about this little thing? She sighed as stared at it closely, as if he penetrating glare would see through the chunky packaging.

She let out a defeated groan.

Stupid package, stupid Vipera, stupid everything; she hated them all. Ahsoka kicked a stone on the floor, sending it scrambling down the alley, before she huffed sadly. The worst part that was no-one noticed, nobody seemed to care; they didn't notice her going under, struggling to break out. No-one had even noticed that she had snuck out, she was that unimportant that no-one had even bothered to care that she wasn't safe and tucked up in her bed, like she should be.

Everyone was so distant now, she couldn't feel them anymore, it felt like the force was distancing itself from her too, rejecting her like everyone else, leaving her to fend for herself. She'd never felt so lonely, so rejected.

Her Master was right, she was just a kid…and she was in way over her head.

She wanted out. She knew that wasn't possible though, she'd made such a mess of things that she couldn't possibly fathom a way out.

Her mind flitted to thoughts of Alex and the fact that there was a small chance he would tell her Master of her late night expeditions. Sure, he was her friend and was a loyal guy so perhaps he would keep his mouth shut, his rivalry and general loathing of her Master would also act as a major deterrent.

But could she rely on him to keep things quiet?

Would he believe that she could sort it out alone or would he try and intervene? She would not have that overgrown pigeon messing things up, she had been careful and precise, making sure that she wasn't caught or noticed and she wouldn't have him ruin her efforts.

But what could she do if he tried to tell Anakin? She couldn't stop him from telling her Master; they weren't kids, she couldn't threaten to tell one of his secrets, or hold her hand over his mouth. That wouldn't work. She had to face the fact that he may tell, especially if he believed she couldn't handle it, she wouldn't be able to keep him away forever. She couldn't silence him, or threaten him, it wouldn't work. He had nothing to lose.

Maybe she could erase his memories too.

Ahsoka shook her head, dispelling that idea, although he hated to acknowledge it, Alexander was force-sensitive, his midi-chlorian count was high enough to be a Jedi – had he been found early enough of course – mind tricks only worked on the weak minded, there was no chance.

Then what would she do?

_20 metres from your location meet with associate, ask associate of weather, reply: rain is slowing down package_, the writing danced over the screen, lingering for several seconds before disappearing.

Ahsoka frowned, looking about before her eyes caught onto a shady figure, leant against the wall lazily, his arms folded over his chest and smoke billowing out form his mouth, he put a small stick to his mouth, looking suspiciously like the death sticks that were so common in the undercity.

"How's the weather?" She asked the man, leaning against the wall beside him, looking around cautiously, as if the walls would attack her

"The damn rain is slowing down my package." Just as expected and Ahsoka was all too happily to relinquish the troublesome square package of horrors, it was like Pandora's box, bringing nothing but trouble and pain to her life.

Ahsoka withdrew the compact package from where she had stashed it, up her sleeve and handed it over to him happily; beyond to be glad of the box that had caused her so much trouble that night. Perhaps now she would be able to go home, Ahsoka caught the man's eyes for a second before hurrying off, not wanting to stick around for whatever he planned to do with the package.

The young Togruta shoved her hands into her pockets, letting out a sigh of relief, maybe now this whole thing would settle, maybe they would let her go now she had helped them. She sure hoped so, she didn't want this sneaking out and mugging people thing to become a common occurrence.

* * *

Alexander paced around his shabby motel room in the undercity, his arms were folded over his chest as he attempted to wear a hole in the floor. His young face was contorted in a feral angry expression and his eyes seemed a stormy whirlwind of icy fury, as opposed to the gentle ocean blue they used to be.

He was not a happy man.

His mind was overcome with emotions he neither liked, nor was able to control. He didn't know how to deal with things. Ahsoka was an independent young lady and deserved to be treated as such but, on the other hand, she was in way over her head. She needed help. He could feel she was in danger and she needed someone's help, anyone's. He'd even accept Anakin as that person if it meant Ahsoka would be protected from whatever catastrophe she had whipped up.

But Ahsoka would hate him forever if he told her Master. When she had told him not to tell Anakin, he had seen something in her eyes – something that disturbed him – a sort of feral protectiveness, animalistic and wild; raging like the undomesticated raw power of a jungle. She looked like a Togruta then, protective of their herd and willing to destroy any threats to their family. A hunter.

Perhaps he could help her himself, he cast away that idea immediately, he was supposed to be gathering information, a massive deal was supposed to be going down between some slave traders soon and that had been added to his never ending list of responsibilities, and – on top of that – rumour had it that Vipera were working on something big.

He just didn't have the time, no matter how much he wished he had.

Then, what was he to do? Maybe he should speak with Anakin, drop hints, perhaps if he told the Jedi and Anakin kept a closer eye then she wouldn't have the opportunity to put herself in danger. Yeah, maybe that would work.

He couldn't just waltz up to her Master and announce his fears, Ahsoka would know who had done it instantly and she would slaughter him…but, maybe there was another way.

Alexander pulled his comlink out of a drawer of his bedside table, if one could call the feeble structure that, he quickly brought up the personal messaging system and typed in Anakin's personal contact address.

He looked at the button that would make the call, his eyes boring into it as if it would do the action without him having to move. He put his hand down and dropped the commlink, shaking his head a little, Ahsoka was his friend and he trusted her – of course he did – he'd just have to be careful, he'd have to watch out for her.

Alexander couldn't quite push down the realisation that if anything did happen to her, it would be entirely his fault, he felt overwhelming fear run through him before he calmed himself with the self-taught meditation techniques he enjoyed, breathe in…and out.

Ahsoka would be fine…she always was, she wouldn't put herself in danger again, would she? Alex snorted, of course she would, well he knew that, if Ahsoka did manage to make it safely out of the bother she was in, she would just wade into a hell of a lot more with her Master. Surely knowing how angry he'd become at her life-threatening hobbies – and apparent suicidal tendencies – she wouldn't get herself involved in anything too bad. She'd be fine.

Maybe if he kept telling himself that, he might believe it.

* * *

**Reviews make me write quicker :D**


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry it took so long, I'd give you a load of excuses but I doubt anyone would be that bothered :L This chapter is a bit longer than usual for your patience :D Thanks for all the lovely review guys.**

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Chapter 16

It was early in the morning, earlier than Alex was comfortable with, the sky with still stained orange from the golden glow of the rising sun; it filtered in through the temple windows and dyed the walls and floors orange, chasing away the dark shadows of the night.

The temple truly was a sight to behold, standing proud and majestic, a fort of strength and power which seemed to glow in the bright sunlight. It was well named; it seemed such a holy building, fully deserving of its oh-so-important name. It was so full of splendour that made it tingle and teem with life, the very walls breathed and pulsated with the power of the force.

It was so peaceful. Except on one corridor.

Alexander rapped on the door impatiently, his fist rebounding off the metal three times as he fidgeted; this was why he wouldn't make a good Jedi. He banged again, this time slamming his clenched fist down on the door, the bang seemed to vibrate off the door and echo around the corridor, no doubt waking up everyone on that floor.

"Anakin. Open up!" He hollered. "I need to speak with you."

"What do you want?" Anakin yelled, his voice sleepy and groggy, back through the door, recognising his irritating voice. "I thought I'd seen the back of you."

"Funny." Alexander remarked wryly. "I'm serious, this is about Ahsoka. I think she's in trouble."

The door slid open after that proclamation and Anakin stood in the door frame, shirtless and half-asleep but his expression moulded into an alert one, as if he were ready to run out and rescue his Padawan right then. His brow furrowed and eyes narrowed slightly as he waited for the boy to speak, impatience seeping into his expression.

"You know, you are the second person to tell me that." He remarked in a casual tone that seemed out of place with his frown.

"Yeah, well, I have good reason." Alexander remarked. "You have to keep an eye on her."

"What do you think I'm doing?"

"Then where is she now?" Alexander already knew the girl was out, his instincts told him so.

"Sleepi-" Anakin faltered, reaching out with his senses and searching the apartment through the force.

She hadn't.

He frowned and turned back into the room, walking quickly and definitely over to his Padawan's room, not bothering to knock – for he was only confirming his suspicions - and he burst into the disgustingly empty room, his eyes darkening when he realised his Padawan was gone.

She had.

The little delinquent wasn't in bed - where she should be.

Anakin felt a wave of unwelcome worry wash over him like a cold shower...force; he didn't even know where she was, or how long she had been gone.

He was going to kill her, nobody got away with worrying him like this – it made him feel like Obi-Wan – damn it. Anakin tried not to let his mind flit to all the worries of what could've happened to her, but he struggled, for all he knew, she could be lying dead in a gutter somewhere with a death stick addict looming over her.

Anakin made a face, alright, he was definitely spending too much time with Obi-Wan, who'd have ever thought he could be so…paternal? The idea of her being in a gutter was an overreaction – he would've felt it if anything bad had happened to her – but that didn't erase his worries entirely, the fear that his Padawan could be in danger and he had no idea where she was.

She could've been stolen from her bed for all he knew - he was only assuming she had snuck out because of her track record, but she could've been abducted. Anger burned fiery through his veins, if anyone had some much as harmed a hair on…wait, she didn't have hair…well, the point still stood - if she came back to him in anything less than perfect condition, there would be hell to pay.

Force, what if someone _had_ taken her? And he hadn't even sensed it? What sort of lousy chosen one was he? How could he fix the galaxy if he couldn't even take care of his Padawan? And there was only 5 foot 7 of her to lose.

"Master, be back soon…" Anakin span around at Alexander voice's frowning at the boy who was reading from a piece of flimsiplast that was pinned to his door. He hadn't noticed that. "Don't worry, will explain everything later. I'm sorry…Ahsoka."

So she had snuck out.

Anakin couldn't decide whether that was better or worse than being kidnapped, on one hand, she wasn't stolen against her will, but, she had disobeyed him - something that was becoming a recurring theme - and left the temple. Did she not realise how dangerous a place Coruscant was a night? How much trouble she could get into? And the girl had more than a healthy dose of his danger-magnetism, force; he could only imagine what catastrophe she had gotten herself in.

He was getting ahead of himself, she might not be in any danger at all for all he knew.

Well, in that case, Ahsoka Tano was either in a load of trouble, or about to be.

Sneaking out, really, wasn't that his job?

"Damn her." Anakin cussed, walking over to the note and reading the Aurebesh for himself. "Kriffing disobedient, insolent, disrespectful, manipulative, lying, bratty, suicidal, masochistic, troublesome, spoilt, reckless…" He continued on rattling out his entire vocabulary as he burnt off steam, furious at his Padawan. "When I get my hands on her…" He made a strangling gesture, accompanied by gurgles and he paced around the room before he looked at Alexander at approached him, pointing a finger at the boy accusingly. "You knew about this! Where the hell is she?"

"I don't know…but I do know she has been frequenting the undercity." Came his quick reply, taking several steps back from the furious Jedi.

"The undercity?" He spluttered, his anger replaced by worry. "That's…that's crazy, she…that is no place for a teenager. Does she not realise how dangerous it is? What those people would do to a little girl?…damn her!"

"I'm sure she's fine." Alexander tried to calm the aggravated Jedi. "She's strong, she can put up one hell of a fight-"

Anakin froze, ignoring Alexander and stopping his fervent pacing, simultaneously closing his eyes for a few seconds and zoning out, lost in a completely different world and he remained in that odd state for what seemed like hours, ignoring all of the young boys questions. His mind was far away, it was focused on something, something that was approaching.

He opened his eyes and the light blue orbs darkened instantly, like a storm preparing to hit port.

"She's back." And then he was gone, his cloak swishing behind him as he vacated the room.

* * *

Ahsoka climbed out of her speeder, dragging herself out of her seat and shakily walking to the door. She was exhausted, between the weeks of sleepless nights and her fears for her Master, she was completely spent – both physically and mentally – she couldn't function, her mind was a sleepy haze and it was a wonder she was still standing.

The world span around her for a few minutes, before she shook her head furiously; shaking away her exhaustion, and she unsteadily made her way out of the hangar, ignoring the Knight that came over to her and began speaking, no doubt asking her if she needed help. She waved him off, something she would normally never do but she was too tired to speak so she continued her trek back to her quarters.

"Ahsoka Tano!" That was a familiar and unwanted voice, despite her exhausted state, Ahsoka identified the voice instantly and she looked up to see her Master approaching her. "Where the hell have you been?"

Ahsoka thought fast. "Just felt like a ride."

"Don't lie to me." Her Master hissed, coming to a halt in front of her and folded his arms over his chest impatiently. "So, are you going to answer my question? Where. Have. You. Been?"

"Mmhh?" She wobbled slightly on her feet before catching herself. "Just oooouuu-" A yawn broke through her tired mumbles "-uuuuut."

"All night?" He narrowed his eyes at her exhausted state.

Ahsoka's head pounded at his loud demanding voice and she flinched a little. "I haven't been sleeping well for a while, Master, and I was so very tired but I couldn't find sleep. So I went for a drive to clear my head."

"So you're telling me that you've not been sleeping well – something you neglected to inform me of – and in your sleep-deprived state you were conscious enough to decide to go for a drive and then navigate said vehicle through the traffic of the city?"

"Yes?" Ahsoka tried.

"Try again." Anakin loomed over her. "I do not liked being lied to, Ahsoka Tano."

Ahsoka tried to meet his angry glare with her own stubborn one but when she swung her head up to meet his gaze she felt her mind swim with dizziness, but she stood straight and strong, ready to argue her side. She wasn't going to let him do this, not after all she was going through to protect him.

Then something changed.

Ahsoka put it akin to someone flicking a switch deep within her, as if a light went out inside her, it took her a few moments to realise that everything was…gone. She couldn't sense anything, she couldn't feel the force around her and she couldn't even sense her Master's blinding presence, and he was right next to her. Panic overwhelmed the teen, oh force, what had happened? She felt dizzy - heck - she felt sick, her mind buzzed and whirred like a machine, working so fast.

Ahsoka put her hands on head, which was burning so intensely, so horribly, it was just getting hotter and hotter and hotter and everything was so much…too much. She couldn't think straight, her mind was running so fast and her head burnt so much. Ahsoka swayed slightly, a glazed look in her eyes before she fell forwards, straight into her Masters strong arms, and Ahsoka Tano blacked out.

* * *

Ahsoka felt like she was falling, she could see her Master one moment and then the next he was going – he was fading out completely – and then he was gone. And she couldn't sense him, she couldn't sense _anyone_.

She gasped in horror as everything around her began turn black, bland black, nothing more, nothing less. It was a harsh, cold colour that amplified her fear and reminded her of the darkness she experienced in her dreams; it was scary and so cold and unwelcoming. And there was silence, so much silence, it was so distracting…deafening. She looked around; her own terrified thoughts seemed amplified in her head. Never before has silence been so loud. It was like it was screaming at her, trying to engulf her in its grasp. So Ahsoka did the only thing she could think of, she ran.

Nothing changed, the usual scene of everything blurring past her as she ran was gone, there was nothing but emptiness, forever. She stopped, panting like crazy, trying to draw her breath, fighting her tiredness and the panic attack which was starting.

What in the seven hells of Tatooine had happened? Where the hell was she? Where had everyone gone? These were only some of the questions running through her mind, her cold empty mind that felt like a canyon, every thought echoed around her. Taunting her, playing with her.

Ahsoka wrapped her arms around herself; it was cold here. It was an empty sort of cold, the sort that was influenced, not by the temperature, but by how incredibly lonely the place was. It felt like she was the only person in the Universe. She couldn't feel anything else.

She sat down in the darkness, there was no floor, everything just merged into itself like a black canvas, an empty space that had no beginnings or ends, no crevices where walls meet floors. They chose to shun each other too. It was so very peculiar, it was frightening.

It was so very empty.

And she still felt so tired, and her mind began to turn to mush, all she wanted was sleep, to lie down and sleep forever. She found her eyes getting heavier, the lids slowly closing over the big blue orbs, and her exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her.

Ahsoka felt herself keel over, falling into the foetal position and lying happily and dozily, so very tired and sleepy. She could sleep now, she was ready for it, to sleep and sleep for so long. The blackness seemed to converge around her, wrapping her in blankets of its cold emptiness, claiming her for itself.

'_Ahsoka_!' A voice echoed through her dark world '_Come back'_

It sounded familiar; she might've known it, perhaps in a different life.

Ahsoka was a peculiar word, was that her? She couldn't remember, she was too tired to try. She vaguely recalled a world that wasn't full of blackness, it was a beautiful world with light and warmth, she remembered a face with blue eyes and dark blonde hair, a scar decorating his eye, but she couldn't quite remember who he was. Someone of importance she should think, especially when she felt her heart recognise him and it sent two words up to her mind, reminding her of that important man.

Family. Home.

She recalled his face again, yes, that sounded right. He was family, he was home. She recalled the smell of oil, it was as if she could smell it right there, and someone humming – a tune that sounded familiar – a deep male hum that was slightly out of tune but it was soothing and familiar, sending the demons and monsters running when she was scared, she vaguely remembered the tune humming her to sleep when she was plagued by nightmares, it was so strong and soft in her mind. It made her fear disappear. She remembered it, deep within her, the tune that danced across her heart.

'_Snips, please' _A frantic call echoed through her mind.

The voice again, this time she knew it was his, that strange man who's face would burst brightly into her mind. He was important. She wanted to go back to him, to find him and ask him why he was so important because she couldn't quite remember, although she wanted to…but she didn't know how.

Then a bright light burst into the darkness, a sun – so light and warm - in an otherwise world of black loneliness. She uncurled from her foetal position slightly, it took more effort than it should have, she felt her muscles protest at the movement and her mind told her to ignore it and go back to sleep.

But her heart told her to get up.

"Who are you?" Somewhere deep down she knew who it was, she recognised that bright light with little bits of grey. "Are you the blue-eyed man?"

'_Come back, Snips. Come back to me, kiddo._' She heard its voice deep in her head.

"Am I Snips?" She asked it uncertainly.

'_Yes'_

Her mind flashed through images and sounds as she linked the name with herself, remembering a specific voice that called her that, and the man with the blue eyes that seemed so old yet young - the eyes that had seen too much - and the raggedy hair that danced in the wind. _'_Don't be Snippy with me, little one', the shadowed memory of the voice telling her that rang through her mind and with it she remembered a place with green crystals as high as the sky and the blue-eyed man. 'Come on, Snips' the man again, this time she recalled him on a big spaceship. She struggled to remembered, it was as if it were evading her.

He was…

He was…

Skyguy. That one word danced across her mind. He was Skyguy, she remembered that. 'You're stuck with me, Skyguy.' There was the place of green crystals again; it was so pretty and special.

"Skyguy." The word rolled of Ahsoka's tongue perfectly, it felt right.

The presence seemed to bob slightly in response, confirming its identity to the confused Togruta child. '_Don't sleep.' _It told her with a sense of urgency in its voice._  
_

"But I'm tired, I want to sleep. Mr. Skyguy, sir" She found herself shying away from the light, it was so blinding.

'_And you will, but not here' _His voice rang through her head like a chime.

"How can I trust you?"

'_You have before.'_

"I don't remember."

'_You will if you get away from this place, it's a place of darkness and eternal sleep. If you sleep here, you will never wake.'_ The man's voice changed to a plea. _'Don't sleep, please'_

"If you're the man with the blue eyes." Skyguy her heart reminded her. "Then why can't I see you?"

'_You aren't trying'_

Ahsoka bristled at that. "I am!" She glared at the pulsating annoying light that seemed to ripple with amusement.

'_Then look, not with your eyes but with your instincts. The force hasn't given up on you yet.'_

The force sounded familiar, she pondered the word. The force. She cocked her head, it was familiar.

A little voice whispered to her, a dark hissing sound that told her not to trust the light, it seeded doubts and fears in her mind and planted mistrust within her. Could she trust this man?

'_That's your fear talking, you can trust me, Snips, and you have to come with me…please little one.' _The voice argued and its light seemed to push the darkness back, extending its wispy tendrils of light energy towards her, wrapping her in its warmth and gentle soothing presence. '_I can't lose you'_

She felt a new voice, so quiet and weak, as if it struggled to talk, she couldn't quite make it out but if was so comforting, like a gentle lullaby. It gave her strength and made her fear go away, she leaned towards it, listening to it and straining to hear its gentle whispers.

Then light that symbolised the blue-eyed man began to change, it seemed to change in the middle, it still had bright tendrils of warmth and light but the middle seemed to warp into something different. It glowed even brighter before it dimmed, in the shape of a figure, and it continued to dim until a man was visible in the middle.

The blue eyed man…Skyguy.

'_Come with me'_ He told her with a lopsided grin, one that seemed so familiar.

And she walked to him and took his outstretched hand, ignoring the darkness that hissed at her, ignoring the tiredness that overwhelmed her and she went with the light, it was so strong and safe. The man seemed so very strong and safe.

And then all the darkness was gone and Ahsoka opened her eyes blearily, finally coming back from the darkness she had nearly been swamped by, having evaded falling into an eternal sleep by the skin of her teeth. She looked up at the man carrying her, the blue-eyed man, and it took her a few seconds to remember him.

"You can sleep now, Snips" Her Master told her quietly. "You're safe now; I won't let the darkness take you."

"What happened?" Ahsoka ignored his request that she sleep.

Anakin paused for a few seconds, looking blankly into the distance. "You fainted and nearly went into a coma." He told her with a frown, his eyes staring out into the distance.

"Sorry," She whispered, continuing when he looked at her with raised eyebrows. "I'm sorry for sneaking out…again."

"We'll talk later." He bade way her apologies, not wanting to get into this now. "Right now, I need to get you to the medbay. Now, sleep." He put a sleep suggestion behind his words, telling himself it was alright because he was her Master, and, therefore, had every right to put her to sleep.

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**Please review dudes, not sure how long the next chapter will take - my muse has run away...but I won't abandon this story, I enjoy writing it too much.**


	17. Chapter 17

**This one's for Japan - my heart goes out to them**

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Chapter 17

Anakin sat dutifully by his Padawan's bed in the temple's medbay, he ran his hands through his hair and, every now and then, let out a sigh, breaking the unnatural silence that consumed the solemn ward. There were so many deathly still children, lying so silently on their beds, it was disturbing. He watched one child who was on life-support, a young boy about Ahsoka's age, and the Knight that sat beside the bed – obviously the boys Master – his hand holding onto the boys' smaller one, as if that little link between them would keep him alive, as if he could pull the boy back from the edges of death.

The Knight turned his head, sensing Anakin's gaze on him, and their eyes met for a few minutes, neither daring to break the eye-contact. Anakin had met this Knight before, Knight Talvin, they had never seen eye-to-eye, and had occasionally got into physical confrontations as young Padawans, but right now they seemed to connect, both having the very real risk of losing someone dear to them hanging over their heads, a mutual fear for their Padawans connected them better than any teamwork classes the Masters had put them in.

Talvin's eyes held a sort of tiredness, the sort one only got from having seen too much, from having lived through too many hardships. It was a damaged look that Anakin likened to what a ship part looked like when completely fried beyond repair, without hope. Destroyed.

In that moment, Anakin realised something, he realised that he did not want to become like Knight Talvin; sat next to his dying Padawan and unable to do anything to save him, knowing deep down that he probably wouldn't pull through.

Anakin was the first to break eye-contact, looking back at his own Padawan, what if that was Ahsoka? What if, instead of Talvin's Padawan, it was his little Snips on life support, barely clinging to life? It had happened to her before, she'd flirted with death, and he had swore he would never let that happen again but…

…here they were…again.

His Padawan was so scarily still, if it weren't for the rise and fall of her chest he would think her dead.

She had managed to completely exhaust her midichlorians, they'd given up, they'd quit…and because of the shock of her midichlorians turning themselves off, she had passed out, unable to deal with the strain.

She'd nearly slipped into a coma, she would've had he not been there to drag her back, he'd called to her and she had come back to him. But it had been close, she'd almost gone under, he could tell she certainly had wanted to but, for once in her life, she had listened to him.

Anakin put his hand on top of Ahsoka's tiny one, looking at her through woeful eyes, what if she managed to get herself killed from her negligence, her downright ignorance where her safety was concerned. What would the world – his world – be like if Ahsoka wasn't in it? Well, he could answer that easily…it would be like a horrible twisted nightmare, one that he would never have the luxury of waking from.

"I'm not gonna let anybody hurt you, Snips." Anakin whispered quietly, keeping his eyes locked on the still teen. "Not even yourself…that's a promise." He looked back over to Talvin's Padawan for a few seconds before turning back to his own. "I'm never going to let you become that boy, I forbid it, I won't."

And then Anakin sat back in his chair, still holding the girls limp hand, and his moved his gaze to the window, wondering if somewhere out there, someone could help him. He'd do anything to protect his girls: Padme and Ahsoka. And they needed him now more than ever; they needed him to do whatever it took to make them safe again and he would move planets to ensure they were safe.

The sounded of a youngling spluttering over a deep cough brought him out of his musings and he looked over to the little girl in question – a tiny little youngling with no Master to sit with her – and he winced slightly at the tears that welled up in her eyes as she sat up slowly, realising she was all alone.

Anakin turned back to Ahsoka, turning away from the child's tears, Ahsoka was his responsibility…his priority but he couldn't quite stifle out the quiet sobs.

Force, how he detested sickbays.

* * *

Ahsoka woke up with a yawn, stretching her legs a little, before slowly opening her eyes, a small smile on her face. She had actually rested, she had slept for what felt like the first time in months, and she had never felt so energised. Boy, had she forgotten what a good night's sleep could for a girl.

Ahsoka furrowed her brow, wait a minute, where was she?

Then she recognised the sterile white sheets, accompanied by the white walls and white floors, and white pillows. She sat up, her brow furrowing even further, why was she in the medbay?

The next thing she became aware of was the figure sat next to her bed, his light brown hair and bright blue eyes – although they seemed quite dark at that minute – were recognisable anywhere. She turned to face him with a smile, ready to make one of her snippy comments but the look on his face made her smile fall. Oh dear, it seemed she was in trouble.

"You know, Snips, you could've mentioned that you've been struggling to sleep to me, you could've mentioned that you were getting weaker and weaker everyday." Anakin's tone was clipped. "Preferably before you _passed out_ from over-exertion."

"Master, I-"

"You what? Eh? You're sorry? You didn't mean for it to go that far? It won't happen again? More empty promises?" Anakin glared at her. "What excuse do you have for me? I've heard it all before, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka shut her mouth instantly, she was most definitely in trouble, she bit her lip a little, toying with the idea of throwing herself out of the window behind her, which was much more preferable than sitting next to her very angry, very intimidating Master.

"This is the second time you have ended up in here since we came back; you just aren't learning your lesson, are you?" Anakin's voice was increasing in volume as he got more worked up. "When are going to learn not to be so frivolous with your life? Huh?"

"I'm sorry!" She yelled back at him, matching his tone, more annoyance filling her voice than sincerity.

"You're always saying that, Ahsoka. But you continue to disobey me, time and time again, you take everything I've ever done for you and spit on it." Anakin told her angrily. "You manipulate and lie to me, well, tell me this Ahsoka, if you aren't going to put in the effort, then why should I?"

"You lie to me." Ahsoka snapped at him furiously, referring to one particular lie. "I know you keep your secrets. Where do you disappear to all the time? Huh?" Ahsoka looked at him, raising her eye-markings, she knew he wouldn't tell her but she felt like she had won something there; a small flicker of burning victory in an otherwise never-ending icy war of countless deaths and casualties.

Anakin faltered at Ahsoka proclamation. Checkmate.

"That is none of your business." He spluttered.

"I'm not important enough to be trusted, am I?"

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to." Ahsoka looked away from him. "I'm sorry I'm not as powerful as you oh so great chosen one. I'm sorry I can't live up to your perfection, I don't quite fit in your shoes and-"

"This isn't about me." Anakin bellowed, glaring at the girl for bringing up his title. "This is about the fact you go looking for trouble, the fact that you never listen to me and you always put yourself in danger."

"I don't!" Ahsoka insisted in annoyance. "Honestly Master, it's like you've pegged me as suicidal."

"Ahsoka!" Anakin thundered, fed up with her little games. "You exhausted your force-sensitive core; you pushed yourself to the maximum. You nearly put yourself in a coma from your negligence. Excuse me for thinking things have gotten out of hand."

"I'm fine now." She mumbled under her breath.

"Maybe, however, you've proved to me that I can't trust you." Those words were worse to hear than any punishment her Master could've ever thought of giving her. "You proved to me that you're just a naïve, disobedient _little girl_…and one that can't be trusted at that."

Ahsoka's anger drained out of her immediately and made room for shame, bare-faced shame that echoed through her like a cold chime.

"I'm…sorry." Ahsoka lost all her cockiness, her tone was sincere for once as she regarded her irritated mentor, her mouth open in shock. Her Master had never been so blunt before, of course she knew he regarded her as a nuisance – a burden – but he'd never told her before, so to spare her feelings but now…

"Well sorry isn't not good enough, Ahsoka, not this time." He hissed as he got up.

The last Ahsoka's saw of her Master was his furious expression, with hate in his eyes that she misinterpreted to be directed at her. She didn't think any amount of meditating could get that image out of her head; it was tattooed there, like a stain you could never remove.

Ahsoka let out a huffy sigh, well, that went well. All they seemed to do lately was fight, it wasn't just her that had changed, though, he had too. He wasn't the same man that had taken her as his Padawan; he was darker, more volatile…on edge. Ahsoka didn't want to face the fact that her Master had started walking down a darker path, one that would take him somewhere awful.

* * *

**This is a bit shorter than usual, I'm sort of stuck - my muse has gone walkies - I'll update when I come up with more. I'm hoping it doesn't take too long for my creativity to return. I promise I'll keep this fic going though. Like I said in the last chapter, I love this fic too much to give up.**  
**Reviews make me smile - please review :D**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Ahsoka walked into her and her Master's shared apartment, having finally been let out of the medbay after a week of torture and continuous sleeping tablets and midichlorian checks and special diets…it was all so tedious, she was hoping her Master would be here, he hadn't been to see her since their argument.

Well, that was a slight lie; he only visited her when she was sleeping, according to the healers. But, to her, he may as well not visit, either way she didn't get to see him. Although, knowing that he visited during her sleep was slightly comforting, it told her that he hadn't given up on her quite as yet. Not completely anyway.

Her face fell when she saw the blatantly empty state of the apartment, so much for finding him here, she huffed slightly. Fine, if that was how he wanted to play it. If he was going to just leave her, then she'd have to function on her own, she'd get Obi-Wan to train her or something, yeah, that'd work. She'd be better off with Obi-Wan

She didn't need Anakin Skywalker.

Ahsoka sighed slightly, now all she had to do was keep telling herself that, then maybe she'd believe it. She collapsed into a chair, looking at the ceiling as she let her mind relax, letting go of all the stress she had been under.

Then her relaxation was broken by a familiar, heart-stopping beeping tone. What was that? She listened more intently, it couldn't be, it just couldn't, not again.

Her face plummeted into a frown and she froze, her eyes flicking to her bedroom door.

Ahsoka had been lulled into a false sense of security as the days had flown back and she had no contact from the organisation, she dared to hope that they'd finished with her, that they no longer had any need for her services.

Ahsoka jumped out of her lazy position on the couch, bursting into her room, her eyes catching onto the datapad disregarded on the floor, the datapad they had given her. This was supposed to be over; she was supposed to be free now. Ahsoka balled up her hands, tears threatening to spill over, she didn't want this.

She couldn't ignore it though.

Ahsoka growled in annoyance, slamming her fists into her bedroom wall, why her? Why this again? Her hands shook as she slowly picked up the datapad pad, slowly bringing it up to her face like something out of a horror film. She looked down at the message on the datapad, her eyes glued to the Aurebesh data, she really didn't want to do this, she couldn't, she didn't know how.

* * *

Half an hour later found the young Togruta stood outside the Galaxies Opera house, just as her instructions stated; this was where she would find the young man she was looking for. The young girl couldn't help but feel like something was wrong, that she shouldn't go into the building, something felt off. She couldn't put a finger on the feeling but she knew something was wrong, or about to go wrong.

The girl drew her hood up, making sure it covered her headtails completely before slowly climbing up the steps, she was not at all comfortable with what she had to do; leading an innocent man to these savage. What that what sort of person she was now? Heartless?

It was beyond cruel – she knew that. But she had her orders.

The young Togruta managed to mind trick her way through security, her mind focused on her goal, although she did note that security was tighter than she would expect it to be, especially for a silly little ballet, something by some Mon Calamari's; Ahsoka hadn't cared to look at the details.

Then she saw the unmistakable 'Red guards', stationed in front of double doors, their eyes levelled ahead, completely ignoring the teenager. The chancellor was here? Well that was great, he would no doubt relay if he saw her to her Master. That was just fantastic, it was just her luck.

Ahsoka pushed opened the doors, looking ahead from the back of the theatre, her eyes scanning the thousands of seated people; well this complicated things a little. She looked up, noting the additional levels of seats, as well as the private boxes, yes, this wasn't going to be half as simple as she hoped.

The datapad vibrated in her hand, letting her know of her new instructions.

'_Seat E45'_ Was the simple message lit up on the screen, annoying the Togruta to no end, well that gave her little help whatsoever.

* * *

Anakin stared out of the balcony, his eyes seemed to be fixed on the graceful Mon Calamari ballet but his mind had long since retreated within itself, his thoughts taking over, his worries for his wife and child attacking him from every direction. He didn't want to be at this thing, the Chancellor was a great friend of his but Anakin felt his time was being wasted, especially when he could be out searching for a way to save his wife.

"Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?" The Chancellor's question brought the young Jedi out of his musings.

"No." Came Anakin's short reply as he looked over to the older man.

"I thought not, it's not a story the Jedi would tell you." The chancellor looked over to the young Knight before turning back. "It's a Sith legend, Darth Plagueis was a dark lord of the sith so powerful and so wise that he could use the force to influence the midichlorians to create life." The Chancellor once again looked over to Anakin. "He had such knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying."

"He could actually save people from death?" The Chancellor knew he had Anakin's attention now

"The dark side of the force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural." His tone held an undertone of darkness, one that Anakin seemed unable to pick up on.

"W-what happened to him?"

"He became so powerful; the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew and then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. Ironic, he could save others from death but not himself"

Anakin stared down at the ballet thoughtfully before turning to the Chancellor, trying not to sound too eager. "Is it possible to learn this power?"

"Not from a Jedi." Came his simple reply.

Anakin stared back down at the ballet, his heart racing with a glimmer of hopeful anticipation, he had to know more. The young Jedi found himself falling further and further into the darkness, letting himself be pulled beneath it's icy black surface, without even noticing it, his only concerns were of his wife and unborn child, who were both in such grave danger. He wouldn't lose them.

A slight movement caught his attention, he was about to dismiss it as a restless member of the crowd but the force seemed to push at his curiosity, making him look again.

His eyes widened, all thoughts of this Darth Plagueis forgotten as he caught sight of the red skinned teenager walking down the aisle, it couldn't be. He leant further over, looking directly down, watching the girl navigate through a row of seated attendees. The markings on her skin, the bright blue eyes, the petite figure, of course...it was.

It was Ahsoka.

Anakin stood; frowning as he looked down, what was she doing here? It was late and she sure as hell hadn't got permission from him to be out. He hadn't talked to the trouble causing girl in days, for her own sake; he was worried he might strangle the insolent child.

"Anakin?" The Chancellor asked patiently. "What is wrong, my boy?"

The Chancellor's questioning glances and questions didn't even register in Anakin's mind as he watched the familiar girl sit down in an empty seat after a while of pushing through the row. His brow furrowed further, what was she doing here? He knew for a fact that Ahsoka took no enjoyment from watching people 'prance around in silly outfits', as she had put it.

* * *

Ahsoka sat down nervously, her finger twitching lightly as she kept shooting glances to the young man sat next to her – he couldn't be much more than 25 – she suspected he was some highly intelligent big shot, why else would the organisation want him?

The teen looked over to the man once again. He seemed enthralled in the opera, his eyes fixated on the graceful figures that floated as fluid as liquid itself. It would be entrancing if Ahsoka were into the mind-numbingly boring spectacle.

"Hey." Ahsoka managed to grab his attention. "Did I miss much?"

"No," He responded, seemingly keeping one eye on Ahsoka and the other on the ballet. "They've only just begun."

The two lapsed into another silence for a few moments, the gentle music of the ballet filling the awkward silence.

Ahsoka had noticed his eyes. The man eyes were green – with a tinge of grey behind them – she idly was reminded of Lux. The evil Separatist – so she had assumed – that wasn't quite so evil. She wondered how he was doing; wherever he was in this big old galaxy.

Ahsoka subtly slid her hand into her pocket, toying around with a small device. The cool perfection of the smooth device's surface slid so fluidly through her fingers, so much that she could compare it to water; gently gliding through her fingers as she turned it over and over in her small hands.

When she pulled her hand out of her pocket, she made sure to slid the little chip out with it, concealing it between her fingers and praying to the force that she'd be able to pull this off.

Ahsoka lightly pressed her palm against the man's shoulder; idly opening her fingers so that the little chip could fall onto his jacket. She simultaneously leant forward and said the first thing that came to mind, for appearances sake.

"Come with me." Ahsoka silently applauded herself mockingly, what would she do if he chose to follow? All she was supposed to do was get the chip on him so he could be collected.

Ahsoka sighed lowly; she was getting ahead of herself. He probably wouldn't even follow.

"I would like that – this isn't as interesting as I had hoped." Of course it wasn't.

"Come on, then." Ahsoka got up and sidled out of the aisle, partially hoping she would lose him if she moved quick enough.

_Luckily _for her, he stayed on her heels – eagerly following the pretty young Togruta out of the auditorium. Completely unaware of the trouble and danger she was amount to push him into – unaware of the fact that this seemingly innocent girl cared much more about her friends than his life. Unaware that this was the one Jedi Padawan that would go to extremes for her friends…her family. He just naively kept close to her because Ahsoka was just that lucky.

All the while, a pair of stern blue eyes watched her, an angry expression coming over the man's face as he watched the teenager pull along a man – who was clearly too old for her – and exit the auditorium.

Yes. Ahsoka had piles of luck with her tonight.

Lucky Lucky Lucky

* * *

"Sorry, Chancellor" Anakin turned to the man sat beside him. "I really must be going."

"Really? Are you sure you must leave so soon?" The Chancellor sat forwards on his seat, frowning slightly at the young man.

"Yes, I'm afraid some matters have arisen that I must tend to." Anakin pulled on his outer cloak that he had earlier shed.

"Anything I can help with, my boy?" The chancellor was desperate for the young man to stay, he had him in his hands a moment ago but now he was distracted.

"Thankyou for your concern but the matter is personal." Anakin looked down quickly, staring at the door his Padawan had just exited through. "Now, I have to get going, I have a Padawan to find."

Anakin bowed respectfully before quickly jogging out of the room, his mind searching for the bright presence of the young girl, locking onto her when he finally found that shining light of potential and began to navigate towards it.

He was going to kill her when he got his hands on her. As if sneaking out wasn't bad enough, she had decided to take a man back with her – an _older_ man – who, Anakin feared, would take advantage of his young apprentice. The idea of what could happen to the girl made him want to vomit, how could she be so reckless? Anakin frowned slightly, feeling his anger building up, what was she playing at? This was beyond unacceptable, a man – really – were there not any other ways she could have the little rebellion she obviously craved? She was doing this to get back at him, she was letting him know that she'd do as she pleased. Well, it looked like he'd have to sort this out.

She would be the death of him, he just knew it.

* * *

**I hope I'm not getting Ahsoka too out of character. I know she wouldn't be so impulsive in the show but I think she would be a bit more frightened and unsure of herself after all I've put her through.**

**I welcome reviews. In fact, I don't just welcome them...I attempt to drag them out of you kicking and screaming, it only takes a few seconds and it gives me more confidence in m writing :D**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Ahsoka kept the conversation flowing diplomatically as they walked down as dark alley – gracing the man with small smiles and small talking her way through the vicious act of betrayal she was performing. She was pulling off quite the act – being the perfectly poised diplomat – Padme would be proud. Well, perhaps not at how she was using her talents.

She couldn't afford to be sloppy though - not now. If she was going to do this then it had to be done right. Properly. Although, she found her thinking there was nothing proper about what she was going to do. Her upbringing screamed against her behaviour, the temple had raised her better than this; her Master had raised her better than this. She was disgracing her strict upbringing, in fact, she was doing more than disgracing it, she was stomping and spitting on it while pointing and laughing.

She was such a terrible Jedi.

Ahsoka stopped when she felt the man slow down a little, confusion evident on his face, which was to be expected, he was just being dragged along by a young woman, probably for the first time judging by his flustered reactions. He was completely clueless.

"Where are we going?" He asked her shyly.

"I dunno, anywhere you have in mind?" Ahsoka turned to face him, putting a smile on her face to hide the guilt she was feeling.

"Erm, well…my house is empty." He suggested rather boldly.

"Sounds good." Ahsoka nodded slightly, although the movement seemed stiff and jerky.

She was a bad person, Ahsoka decided. No good person, no light-inclined being, was so easily able to manipulate and lie. Oh, the Republic would brand her a traitor and name her a Separatist; they'd imprison her, or execute her, or something. She didn't fear death but she didn't like the idea of going down in history as a traitor to the Republic. No, that idea didn't appeal to her in the slightest.

Ahsoka's spine tingled, her whole body shivered, making her start forwards a little, jolting her in surprise. She frowned a little, that was odd, it felt like the force was trying to tell her something. She attempted to connect with the ever present energy but it evaded her, was it ashamed of her too? She shook her head a little – putting it down to sensory hallucinations from fatigue – before she carried on walking, then she felt it again, but this time it was stronger, it was a like a mental shove, telling her something was coming, telling her to get a move on.

Ahsoka stopped suddenly, putting her hand on the man's – Lorenz' she had found out he was called – chest absently as she looked back down the black alley, her force senses tingling with anticipation. Something was coming. She frowned a little before reaching out with the force, looking for this disturbance.

Her force senses raced through the twisting and turning seedy alleys of the undercity, reaching out and feeling everything that her mind swept past. She felt so many presences, big and small lights of different colours, there were so many that it was a struggle to keep focused and not be distracted by the crowds of lights that twinkled all radiantly alongside her mental presence. Ahsoka shook her head. She steeled herself. She needed to find out who was coming, she didn't have time to mess around. For all she knew it could be a Separatist or someone with similar intents towards her; harm.

Ahsoka pushed herself forwards with that thought, sending her senses flying through the vicinity, gliding around in search of whatever had troubled her so. She didn't have to go far before she found the source of the disturbance, a grey and black mix of power that surged and frothed in anger, like a growing storm that was furiously waiting to unleash its anger, a hurricane of emotions: sadness, anger, disappointment, disbelief, fear. She could sense they were all directed at her, no doubt having witnessed her actions of the night. Oh yes, this was a very familiar force signature.

"Oh no." Ahsoka breathed gently, feeling him approaching quickly, speeding through the dark alleys like a speeder. He was close.

What was he doing here? She was pretty sure her Master wasn't the person for hanging around the undercity – even he didn't skulk around that much.

"What? What's wrong?" Her companion asked, looking around for whatever she had noticed that he hadn't. "Aren't we going?"

Like in a holodrama he came into sight, his burly – yet slim – figure broke out of his run when he saw her, stopping in a stupefied fury and staring at her and her companion for a few seconds, he started again, choosing to walk with meaningful strides that could send a legion of Separatists running in fear. Ahsoka didn't really know what was going on or why he was here but she did know one thing: he wasn't happy, that much was clear. What were the chances really? That the night she was told to collect this man was the night her Master was just chilling down in the underworld.

This was so unlikely that it was definitely the forces' doing, she just knew it – the only thing that could make this more impossible would be if he had too been at the Opera house. Now that would have been laughable.

This was the force trying to get back at her for being a universally massive pain in the arse.

Well played, mysterious entity, well played.

"Who's that?" Lorenz asked, walking the visibly angry man stalking towards them, his eyes fixed on Ahsoka, a sea of emotions brimming behind the icy blue irises.

"That is…" Ahsoka paused, she couldn't say it was her Master, he couldn't know she was a Jedi or he'd obvious know something was up, it didn't take a genius to work out that Jedi didn't generally pick up random men without reason. "…my brother."

"Brother?" His tone was disbelieving.

Ahsoka cursed, of course brother didn't work well, they were different species. She decided to wing it. "I'm adopted." That was plausible.

Ahsoka met her Master's eyes before averting them almost instantly, fearful at what she saw there, he wasn't just angry, he was furious. She was willing to bet he assumed she was attempting to jump into bed with this guy – which wasn't true, she wouldn't let it get that far – and of course he didn't like that idea. He never trusted her, he treated her like such a child, it just wasn't fair.

"What are you doing?" He hissed at her, still several metres away.

The small datapad she had earlier stash in her large cloak pocket vibrated, as if to remind her of her mission, that little vibration reminded her of what she had to do, what was at stake. She bit her lip. She was terrified of angering him further, who knows what he'd do, but she couldn't let him die. She couldn't.

In a moment of impulsive idiocy, Ahsoka decided what she would do; all rational thought leaving her.

"Run." The word was out of her lips before she could properly think about her slim chances of escaping her Master but she followed through with them, pulling Lorenz along behind her, pelting away from the angry Jedi. "Come on, keep up."

"I'm not very good at running." He gasped as he struggling to keep up.

"Just. Hurry." Ahsoka called back in a clipped tone

The man wheezed and gasped as he ran, falling further a further behind her to Ahsoka's horror. Her Master would catch him if he didn't speed up and she didn't believe he'd be particularly merciful towards the man. She couldn't let her Master catch him, he was obviously crucial to the organisations plans, she needed him.

"Listen." Ahsoka slowed down to run alongside her companion. "Meet me at the 'rusty Cabin' yeah?" Ahsoka felt disgusted at her words, she knew she was sending him to an early death – if he were lucky. "I'll lose him."

Ahsoka stopped while the man kept running, his wheezing could be heard for long after he'd run down the street. Ahsoka looked back, seeing a small alley that branched off of the main road, she was down it in a mere second, sprinting through it even faster so she could put a bit of distance in between herself and her Master.

She stopped and leant against the wall, bending over a little to catch her breath, running and expending the force to speed up her flee took a lot out of her. She yawned. She'd never noticed how tired she was until now; perhaps all those sleepless nights were finally beginning to take their toll on her fatigued body.

Ahsoka took her datapad out of her pocket quickly, typing in a quick message to her employers. It told them of the young man's imminent arrival and gave her apologies for not being able to deliver him herself, she'd just have to hope she did good enough. Her Master's life was at risk.

Now that she had stopped, now she was alone, her brain began rewinding and replaying the events of the night, guilt crept up on her she felt awful for manipulating Lorenz, she was sending him straight to a viscous organisation who could kill him. He didn't seem that bad, she couldn't understand why they'd want him, he couldn't have done anything to upset them, he couldn't have hurt a fly.

Ahsoka assumed that, from his clothing and general look, he was some sort of technology whiz, a professional. Perhaps they needed him for his skills, maybe they wouldn't kill him, well, that certainly helped ease her guilty conscience.

She also felt ashamed; she'd been caught, by her Master nonetheless. She'd not just embarrassed herself but him too, and there was no doubt that the chancellor had seen her too – for she was that lucky – she'd been caught by someone her Master valued highly. She had embarrassed Anakin in front of an esteemed friend. She'd thrown herself at a man quite a bit older than herself and she'd dishonoured everything he'd ever done for her, she'd insulted him and his teachings and he would be right to drop her off at agricorps the second he caught up to her. She'd betrayed him.

The guilt bubbled in her stomach like an acid; horrible, putrefying guilt that lingered that and ripped holes in her. It made her want to vomit – forcibly – just shove two finger down her throat, throw back a load of salt – anything, anything to get that awful guilt out of her stomach.

Ahsoka spat. As if that small dirty action could get rid of the guilty feelings that spread through her stomach, to her oesophagus and up into her mouth. She had led a poor innocent man to a world of pain.

Ahsoka bade back the guilty tears, squeezing her eyes shut for a few seconds; this was too hard for her. She didn't like it, she was going against everything she had every been taught and she had never been more disgusted with herself, she didn't even know who she was anymore, she knew that she wasn't Ahsoka Tano anymore, Ahsoka Tano wasn't so cruel. Ahsoka Tano would have never disrespected herself and the Jedi so much.

A tired sigh escaped her lips, she felt awful. This job wasn't as easy as she first thought it would be. She didn't know what she had thought she would be signing up for, but it wasn't this.

Quick footsteps had Ahsoka shoving her datapad back in the deep pockets of the cloak that swamped her; she looked up at the oncoming storm, seeing the brewing wild catastrophe in his icy blue eyes. Checkmate. There was no escape for her this time, he'd find her, he always did. If there was one person in the galaxy that she'd never be able to hide from it had to be Anakin Skywalker.

He stopped at the end of the alley and folded his arms over his chest, regarding her with the darkest expression he had ever directed at her; usually he saved those looks for Separatist, perhaps that was what she was in his eyes now; no better than a Separatist. He glowered at her, his glare never faltering. She had pushed him too far this time.

* * *

**Please review dudes! :D**


	20. Chapter 20

**This is a pretty long chapter to keep you all going for a while. It's my birthday present to starwarsrocksmysocks' little brother. Happy birthday!**

* * *

Chapter 20

"Master" Ahsoka squeaked, biting her lip out of worried habit. "It's not what you think…I can explain."

He ignored her fearful words, not moved in the slightest when she levelled her tear-filled blue eyes at him, in hopes he would perhaps go easy on her. No such luck. He kept his harsh gaze on her, making the whole area's temperature feel like it had dropped a few degrees. Ahsoka wrapped her arms around herself self-consciously, she'd done it this time, how could she be so stupid? To attempt something like that in public, she should've waited, orders be damned, she should've waited.

And she had done this so soon after their fight, by force she was an idiot.

She met his gaze again, his eyes were darker than she'd ever seen them; they held a barely controlled fury, something that twisted and contorted his, usually handsome, face into something malicious and fearful. She was done for this time. She hadn't just crossed the line; she had spat on it and then taken a speeder several kilometres past it.

He started walking again, stalking towards her like a cat to a trapped mouse; his eyes never breaking their glare, not taking their gaze off of her for even a second. As if he didn't trust her not to run off if he did. He had no reason to trust her, though, Ahsoka reasoned, not after everything she'd done and he didn't even know the half of it. In fact, he had told her that he didn't trust her and that was before all this.

Words wouldn't make anything better, Ahsoka knew that. There was nothing she could say that could abate his anger, not in the slightest; in fact, talking right now might just annoy him all the more, acting like fuel to an out-of-control flame.

He grabbed her arm in a vice grip, pulling her onto her tiptoes and leaning into her face, his eyes threatening to bore a hole in her skull. "You are in so much trouble, Ahsoka Tano. How _dare_ you?" He hissed in her face before letting her down and dragging her along behind him.

* * *

"I can't believe you! What in all the stanging hells of Corellia were you doing?" Anakin had been shouting for a while now, pacing about the front room of their apartment. Steam practically rolled out of his eyes and his eyes almost shot lasers.

Ahsoka hung her head, wisely choosing not to answer and to simply remain seated in silence; she didn't need to anger him further. She would just let him rant a little, let his anger run its course, that would be best and would avoid any physical scrapping they may end up in, she'd win of course, he could be such a child sometimes.

"You're 16, Ahsoka, just a little girl." Anakin looked at her, pointing a finger. "How could you do something so foolish? You are just a child!"

Ahsoka was beginning to get tired of his patronising remarks, one minute she was 'just a little girl' and 'just a child', and then the next he was throwing her on the front lines and giving her responsibility she wasn't ready for. He should make up his mind, was she a child or a responsible adult? She couldn't keep track anymore, he changed his mind too often.

"What were you even planning to do?" Anakin suddenly decided he didn't like that question so he put a hand up, in a stop gesture. "In fact, I don't want to know…I do know that you will _never_ do anything like that again. I _forbid_ it. He was so much older than you; so much could've gone wrong. Did you think of that? Ha! Of course not. He could've taken advantage of you, drugged you, left you in a gutter…did none of that even cross your reckless teenaged mind?"

"I'm sorry." Ahsoka mumbled under her breath.

"You're sorry, you're sorry?" Anakin stopped his pacing and turned to face the young girl sat on the couch. "You're always sorry and to be honest, I don't believe anything you say anymore. You lie so easily that it disgusts me. You're not even sorry, you're just sat there. You put yourself in so much danger, and you've put me in a difficult position!"

"You're going to send me to agricorps, aren't you?" Ahsoka bowed her head, slumping back in her chair. "I understand."

Silence echoed about the apartment for a few minutes. Ahsoka stared sadly at the wall whilst Anakin watched her, thinking about her question. It was valid. Most Masters wouldn't put up with this behaviour from their Padawans, why should he? He kept his glare on her, he had good reason to send her away but could he do it?

No. No. He only needed a second to decide that. Of course he couldn't, Ahsoka wasn't just a toy that could be pushed away once you were bored with it, she was his responsibility. No-one else's. He wasn't about to shirk on his job now. Not when she was so obviously in need of correction, when she so obviously needed him to set her straight again.

"No. I'm not." Anakin huffed. "I don't think anything you could ever do would push me that far, but don't think I'm not furious. What you did was so stupid, and I'm obliged to report you to the council."

Oh dear.

Ahsoka sat straighter in her chair, her posture rigid, the council couldn't find out, they'd interrogate her, they'd figure out she was lying, they'd investigate. They couldn't find out, they couldn't, her Master and Padmé would die, she couldn't let that happen, she had gone to so much trouble to protect them, she couldn't have it all fall apart now.

"Please, Master." Ahsoka clasped her hands in a pleading gesture. "Please, they can't find out, please."

"Why not, Ahsoka?" Anakin folded his arms over his chest. "Maybe they'll be able to straighten you out because I sure as hell don't know what to do anymore."

"Please," Ahsoka was all out begging now. "You can't tell, you mustn't tell. Master, please, trust me."

"I can't." Those words tore Ahsoka up inside, she'd done it. He didn't trust her before but he certainly didn't now, in fact, given the choice in a life or death situation between her and Dooku, she was pretty sure he'd choose Dooku, after all, he'd only taken his hand. That wasn't too bad. She, on the other hand, disrespected everything he'd ever done for her, she'd thrown everything he'd done for her down the gutter and spat on it…he had every right to hate her, it wasn't an overreaction, she'd done too much. "The council will know what to do."

"No, they won't." Ahsoka pushed away her hurtling emotions, bidding away her wishes just to curl up and wither in a corner. "They'll just ask me a bunch of questions, anyone can do that, they won't do anything special. I won't magically be 'fixed'"

"Fine then," Anakin sat on the coffee table directly in front of his Padawan, glowering at her. "_I _will be the one to ask you some questions, and you better not lie to me or, force help me Ahsoka…"

"Master-"

"Don't try talk your way out of this, you _will_ tell me what is going on." He scolded her darkly, his eyes taking on that icy look to them, that one look that always worried her and made her shift uncomfortably.

"I can't," Ahsoka stood up suddenly, "and I know that's not what you want to here but it's all I have to offer and you can report me to the council, you can make me scrub the Twilight, you can disown me as your Padawan and I deserve all of it, I really do, but I still won't say, I can't."

"Why can't you?" Anakin was beginning to get annoyed again now, he too stood up, towering over the petite Togruta.

"Because I just can't." Ahsoka resisted the urge to stomp her foot and scream at him like a toddler, she struggled to keep her voice calm and even. "Everyone has their secrets, things they don't tell anyone. You do too, I _know_, Master…I know that you keep things from me, you'll just have to understand that I do too."

There it was – secrets. That was the whole reason things were so messed up between them, it was why they were arguing, why things weren't as good as they used to be. They were slowly tearing their bond apart, wearing away at that rope that linked them together; the secrets between them threatened to break the close relationship they shared, wearing away at the very foundations of their close friendship.

"Get something to eat and go to bed." Anakin said tiredly, putting a hand to his temples, massaging them lightly. "We'll talk more tomorrow, I can't deal with this right now, I'm too angry."

"You're going?" Ahsoka asked as he turned towards the door.

"I'll be back in the morning, I need some air."

The door made a slight 'swoosh' as it shut behind him, leaving Ahsoka alone, stood staring at the door he had left through. He was running away again. He just ran from his problems, well, someday, he would realise he couldn't run forever, even he wasn't capable of that, no matter how fast or far he went, his problems would eventually catch him up.

* * *

Anakin jumped out of his speeder, practically throwing himself up the stairs, his feet racing in hopes that he would get to his wife that much quicker. He missed her, he missed her everyone second that he wasn't with her.

All the while, the Chancellor's tale of the Sith – Darth Plagueis the wise – ran through his head, the words twisting and turning in his mind's eye. Was that really possible? Could one truly save others from death? Anakin found himself fascinating over learning that ability – he save everyone! No-one he loved would ever have to die; he'd never lose any of them, not Padmé, the baby, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan. If he could learn this power he could keep them with him…forever.

The light part inside of him screamed, rattling against the dark prison it had been entrapped in, it told him it wasn't right to manipulate fate like that. It wasn't his to change and he certainly shouldn't try, fate wasn't something that could be messed with and controlled at one's will, if it was someone's time to go, delaying that wouldn't be fair to them. They would feel like they didn't belong. It could drive them insane.

Anakin shook his head, bidding that thought away, he didn't want that either. He couldn't stand the thought of any of them becoming a shell of what they used to be, driven to insanity and tortured by their own continued existence. Although, he hypothesised that Ahsoka was already halfway there, at the very least.

No he didn't want that either.

"Ani?" There she was.

Anakin ran across the sitting-room, sweeping his wife off her feet and spinning her around, mindful of her very pregnant stomach, after all the baby had his genes in them, therefore they were already damaged enough without being crushed to add on to that list of problems.

"Ani, what's wrong?" Padmé pulled back a little to look him in the eye, putting her hands on his cheeks.

"Nothing, my love. Not now I'm here." He told her quietly.

Padmé made a scoffing noise, very unbecoming of a Senator – it was his influence. "I may not be a Jedi but I certainly can tell when you're upset."

"You know me too well, angel." Anakin gave her his infamous lopsided grin.

"Talk to me." She said so gently it could've been a whisper.

Anakin raised an eyebrow delicately, looking at her with a half-smile. "Do you really want to know at the trials and troubles of my pathetic Jedi life?"

"Yes." Padmé shook her hair out of her face. "And we both know you love that 'pathetic' life. So talk to me."

Anakin shook his head a little, nothing could get past her, she knew him better than anyone, one would think she was force sensitive from the way she could so easily read him and his emotions. He looked away for a few seconds, formulating what he would tell her, after all, it wasn't right to go spilling all Ahsoka's problems to people but, he reasoned that since Ahsoka and Padmé were close, she wouldn't mind.

"I'm worried about Ahsoka."

Padme frowned. "Is she alright?" And then. "She's not hurt is she? I knew I should keep an eye on her."

"She's not hurt." Anakin shook his head. "Not yet, but I fear her current behaviour is going to get her into danger."

"She's a teenager." Padmé told him, with a 'duh' sort of tone.

"This isn't normal teenage rebellion, Padme." Anakin pulled away from his wife, turning towards the window. "_I_ never did this. She's in trouble, I know it, but she won't talk to me. What should I do? I don't know, it's just not simple anymore. What do I do now, Padme?"

"Parenting classes?" Padme suggested tauntingly. "Are you sure you aren't just blowing this out of proportion?"

"You think that's funny, do you?" Anakin turned back to look at her with a half-amused smile. "You don't know the half of it."

"Then illuminate me."

Anakin's face went serious again, his eyes darkening a little before he proceeded to relay the events of the evening to his wife, telling her of his meeting with the Chancellor – although, he didn't include the details of Darth Plagueis – and he went on to explain how he saw her, throwing herself over that man with no self-respect at all, then of how she tried to run with him.

"She didn't?" Came Padmé flabbergasted query. "I'm sorry, Ani but I find that hard to believe, I mean, Ahsoka? Really?"

"Yeah, imagine _my_ surprise when I saw my child Padawan doing things I never want to associate with her again." Anakin bit back snappily, before. "Sorry, I shouldn't have snapped."

"It's fine." Padmé bade away his apology. "I understand, you're trying to protect her."

"She's making it so damn hard, I never know where she is when she disappears but now I've seen her, I mean…is this what she' been doing whenever she snuck out? Seducing men that are _way_ too old for her. She's 16; she shouldn't even know about half of this stuff!"

"She's not that much younger than you." Padmé didn't know if she was defending Ahsoka or not, she knew she certainly didn't disapprove of her risky behaviour, but she did feel like that point did need to be put out.

"She's always gonna seem young to me." Anakin ran his hand through his hair.

"Maybe that's the problem." Padmé continued at her husband's confused glance. "Maybe she's trying to prove to you that's she an adult, because you can't help but still treat her like a child. Maybe she just wants to be acknowledged as a responsible adult."

"Well, if this is her way of proving she's responsible then she and I need to have a talk." Anakin frowned. "This is only proving that I can't let her out of my sight."

"Ani, let her have her space. The tighter you hold on, the more she will pull away." Padmé told him, coming to stand in front of him again, taking his hands. "You'll only lose her if you smother her too much."

"I still think this is beyond simple teenage rebellion." Anakin told his wife, leaning down so their foreheads touched. "What's wrong with her? I know there's something, I can feel it, something I'm missing."

"I know that Ahsoka is scared right now, she's feeling insecure and doesn't have any confidence in her abilities. She's _very_ scared."

"How do you know that?"

"You're not the only one she comes to for advice. Sometimes, all someone's needs is a female touch as opposed to your methods" Padmé chuckled slightly but her face smoothed out into a bit of worry. "I think that you and her _do_ need to talk, she hasn't told you everything yet."

"What? What hasn't she told me?" Anakin asked, confused.

"She told me in confidence, I won't betray her like that, you'll have to get her to tell you yourself."

"Hey! I'm her Master; I have a right to know."

"Yes, you do, but not from me. How will she ever trust me again if I tell you? Then I won't be able to give you these subtle hints" Padme raised her eyebrows, knowing she had won this argument.

Anakin sighed loudly, heaving his shoulders a little; they both knew he was hopeless at winning an argument, especially with her. He then took in a deep breath, knowing that he wouldn't do anyone any good by working himself up about his rebellious Padawan. He'd just have to deal with her in the morning, and they would talk, she wouldn't talk her way out of things this time. He wouldn't allow her to keep things like this from him, not things that put her in danger, it was a fine and dandy her having her secrets but ones that endangered her were not okay with him.

He looked back over at his wife, bidding away his worry for his Padawan; it was rare he and his wife got a night to themselves. "You're right."

"Aren't I always? It's one of my talents."

"Perhaps we should put your talents to use." Anakin wrapped his arms around her.

"I think so."

* * *

** I know there's not much plot development here. I just want to keep stirring up the water between Anakin and Ahsoka. Please review**


	21. Chapter 21

**Is there anyone else who doesn't really know what to do with their lives now Clone Wars has finished till autumn?**

* * *

Chapter 21

Ahsoka stared out her window, her arms wrapped around her thin – too thin – legs. She lay down her chin to rest on her knees, a brief sigh escaping her mouth, conveying all of her trouble in one concise breath. Her eyes were fixed on the twinkling stars, those little lights that shone out in the vast darkness, like little sparks of hope. Although, to her, there was no hope, she had ruined everything. Nothing would ever be the same again.

Even her own Master didn't want to be around her.

Things were bad. She felt so groggy and weighed down, like the life had been zapped right out of her, it felt like everything she did took more effort than it should. She was just so tired. But did she dare sleep? She was frightened of the nightmares that would, no doubt, plague her tonight; her stressful day promised her a troubled night.

She should've been more careful. She should've sensed him, she shouldn't have taken his absence for granted, she should've known it wouldn't be that simple…it never was.

She was a pitiful excuse for a Jedi, she didn't deserve to have such a good Master.

She debated with herself about calling him.

She could ask him to come back and they could hash it out; like they used to do. They'd shout at each other for a while – throw all their issues with the other out in the open – they'd argue and scream and shout and throw tantrums, and it would last for hours, sometimes days. There would be glares thrown, dirty looks, and huffy demeanours; it was all quite amusing to spectators.

Sometimes their conflicts would break out publicly, Ahsoka remembered on time when they were both made at the other so, when they had bumped into each other in the main cafeteria, things had easily escalated into a full-blown argument. They'd both insult the other as much as they could, and would names all the little quirks and habits that irritated them, the ball would be passed back and forth; just like in boloball.

But eventually they would run out of steam; they'd run out of things to argue about - the issues they had with the other would seem trivial and easily resolvable. The acceptance came first, they'd both realise that they couldn't expect the other to be perfect, they'd realise that some leeway had to be allocated. Then came the shame; all the things they had said and done, harsh words spoken through anger, none of it was intended to hurt but it did and the shame would flood them.

Then came the apologetic stage, where the pair would get over their egos – swallow their pride – and would fess up to everything they had done, they would talk – in a civilised manner this time – and they'd figure a way past the fight. Then they'd be all smiles and hugs and apologies, and then it would be like nothing had ever happened between them – they'd be close again and they both would've taken something out of the argument with them, something they could do to make life a little easier for the other.

That was the most extreme their conflicts would get. Most of the time, they would just argue a little – shout and stomp about - before both storming off to their respective rooms and going to bed. The next day, everything would be forgotten, it was like they'd never disagreed in the first place, they'd be taunting and teasing; neither could stay made at the other for long.

Ahsoka wished they could go back to that

She felt her head droop to the side, of its own accord, too tired to remain held up, exhaustion had crept up upon her and had consumed her entire being, drowning her in its grasp. She tried so desperately to stay afloat, even going as far as digging her nails into the back of her hand, hoping the small pain would keep her awake, but it was useless and soon she succumbed to its slumbering depths.

* * *

_Black walls trapped her, surrounding her like a prison, looking as if they would treacherously close in on her and squash her. It gave her a feeling of claustrophobia. A wash of vertigo hit her mercilessly, sending her stumbling into one of the unfriendly walls, her hand flying out to grip onto something but it found nothing, flailing and flapping, it only met the air. Leaving her to fall._

_And she didn't stop. She just kept falling and falling, never hitting the floor she expected to be there._

_Was this it? Ahsoka pondered, was this how she was to die, falling through the choking darkness. The teenager shut her eyes instinctively when she saw something below her, a floor that would bring about her death. She was right, this was it, how she would die._

_Everything happened at once then; her plunging body felt like it had stopped moving, her fearful mind stopped worrying and everything stopped. She wasn't falling anymore._

_She opened her eyes._

_The plush patterned carpet underneath her told her that she wasn't falling and was, in fact, firmly on the ground. Never had she been so gratefully to be out of the air; it was usually a thrilling experience for her, but what had once been her freedom had become her fear._

_The walls seemed to run along forever, beige and boring, extending as far as the eye could see, and continuing on, even after that. _

_Ahsoka wandered along the hallway, her mind as lost as her person, where was she? She definitely didn't recognise this place, how did she even get here. She couldn't quite remember. Her mind drew up a blank as she searched through it, looking for answers, what was happening? She didn't know._

_She frowned at a door that was set in the wall, intricately designed, standing proud with beauty and honour. It was like a door of olden times, before the automatic ones had been invented, it even had a – what was the word? – Door turner…no….doorknob. That was it. _

_Ahsoka frowned a little as she thought about the door. She could've sworn that wasn't there a second ago. Her curiosity was piqued and mind was set, she was beyond inquisitive about that door. She wanted to go through it._

_Ahsoka frowned; the door was right in her face now. She looked down; her hand was touching the old fashioned door knob, coiled around it as if she were about to open it. That was odd, she didn't remember moving, she only decided she would go through the door but then the next second she was touching it._

_Well, today was certainly turning out to be most entertaining._

_She went through the door, putting her hand up to shield her from the bright light that assaulted her eyes, white hot and sterile, seeming more harsh and cruel than light and gentle. For the first time, she felt the light was against her, attacking her instead of aiding her._

_Then it stopped._

_The light dimmed down until it became bearable, light streaming from the warm sun, although, Ahsoka couldn't help but feel cold, she did shiver in the light, it still felt like it was against her. _

_The blue-green hexagonal crystals gleamed beautiful in the light, sparkling like precious diamonds and twinkling at her mischievously. She knew this planet. It was Christophsis, of course it was, she'd recognise this planet anywhere, it was the place where she'd first met her Master. It was sacred, special, to her._

_Of course it was different than what she remembered it, so many of its renowned crystals – those pillars of beauty – had collapsed and decayed, lying helplessly on the ground, forgotten and uncared for; left to die from neglect. The stone structures and pillars had a layer of brown-green growth covering them, hiding the dirty grey stone with leech-like tentacles._

_She walked forwards slightly, mindful of the pieces of collapsed crystals, stepping over anything that threatening to send her crashing to the ground._

_What had happened here? It was so…dead. It once seemed to dance with life, even the crystals did, they moved with rhythm and beauty and life. But everything was gone now, it all felt dead, lifeless and immobile. The planet felt like it had retreated within itself, hiding away its life and treasures from all, for fear of harm._

_Had they done this? Was their battle on Christophsis more destructive than she realised? Had she been too caught up in her own success and triumphs to notice what they were doing to a once beautiful city?_

"_Ahsoka."_

"_Master." Ahsoka breathed out a sigh of relief as her Master stepped out from behind a shattered crystal pillar._

"_What are you doing here?"_

"_I don't know, I just came here…through a door." Ahsoka attempted to explain, gesturing towards the door but to her surprise it was no longer there._

"_You aren't wanted here."_

"_Well, I don't know how to get back; I mean I could still help. I know that I'm in trouble but I could help." Ahsoka shrugged a little._

"_We don't want you here."_

"_What do you mean?" Ahsoka frowned, not quite understanding what he was getting at._

_More figures stepped out from their hiding places, each covered in shadows and hidden by their hoods. Tall, menacing figures stood in the cold sunlight._

"_Who are you?" Ahsoka took several fearful steps back. "What do you want?"_

"_You destroyed everything." Anakin stepped towards her, his eyes turning from bright blue to a hideous yellow. "It's your fault that everything's ruined, you're pathetic, a waste of time."_

"_Master-"_

"_I don't know what Yoda ever saw in you." Anakin's face began to become paler. "You will never be worthy to be my Padawan."_

_Ahsoka's face became horrified as her Master contorted into something dark and fearful, his once tan skin was pale and scarred, sickening to behold. His long wavy gave was gone completely, giving way to more paleness and more scars. She bit back a horrified scream, it wasn't her Master, she told herself, it couldn't be…but deep down, she knew it was._

"_It's all your fault." He screamed at her, his voice raspy and destroyed._

"_Master, what happened to you?" Came Ahsoka's horrified query._

"_This is all because of you, because you can't control yourself…can't stop rushing into danger." Anakin snarled. "Well, look at me. LOOK AT ME. Are you happy now Ahsoka? You've ruined everything."_

"_I'm sorry." She whimpered with tears in her eyes, backing away from whatever her Master had become._

"_You are not worthy to be a Jedi." A hood fell, revealing Master Kenobi, or what she thought was him. He looked withered and decayed, his once ginger hair had long since faded into a dull grey, and his once blue-gray eyes were only gray now, hopeless and lifeless. "Not ever, I don't know why he kept you all this time."_

"_No-" Ahsoka shook her head dejectedly. "Not you too."_

"_You are a failure and an embarrassment to the order." He told her angrily. "You only ever prove that time and time again."_

"_I can do better." Ahsoka pleaded, the tears threatening to spill over her cheeks as the harsh words cut her deep._

"_No you can't." Another cloaked figure came forwards, shrugging off their cloak._

_Ahsoka screamed._

_Master Windu stood, crippling and destroyed, his skin burnt horrifically and one of his arms was no longer there, leaving a cauterized, yet still horrendous, wound. His eyes narrowed in on her, judging her with only a look._

"_I said it, you aren't good enough." He spat at her. "You'll never be good enough, if you were good enough I would survive but you're a disgrace and it's your fault I die."_

_One by one the hoods fell, revealing friends and people she considered family: Barriss, Master Secura, Master Luminara, Master Plo, Yoda, Padme, even Alex. Each one was contorted and destroyed, their skin withered and destroyed, and each had unique wounds but all were repulsive and disgusting to behold. Their words cut her deep, their rejection and hatred, directed only at her; they all blamed her for their eventual deaths._

_Each word, each curse, each declaration of their hatred for her, sent Ahsoka spiralling further and further into a cocoon of self-hatred and depression. They were right. She worthless and more, why was she here? Why didn't the force get rid of her already if she was such a burden?_

"_You see, we don't want you." Padme stepped forwards, linking hands with her Master. "We're all happy without you; you should've never been born, no wonder you're parents gave you to the order, they wanted rid of you, they knew you were worthless from the start."_

"_Why don't you just go?" Alex told her. "Leave us all it peace, we don't want you here."_

"_We don't want you." Anakin agreed. He nodded his pale bald head in testament to Alex' statement, glaring at her hatefully. "You're nothing but trouble, always putting us in danger. Just look what you did to me, I want you to watch and see everything you've done."_

_The entire vision span; it warped and twisted and turned with no visible exits. All the colours of the world mixed in together until they were a harsh solid black – cold and uncaring – as dark as death. The blackness permeated her, it seemed to hiss at her – it whispered all the doubts she'd ever had into her ear. It told her of her failures; it reminded her of all the live lost because of her. It reminded her that she was alone, unwanted, unloved. _

_But she already knew that. She knew she was alone – all on her own – it was all she had ever known._

_She shut her eyes instinctively; hoping that if she couldn't see it then she could hide from it – pretend it wasn't there. Maybe it would go away if she ignored it…._

…_hopefully._

_Then she could feel the force rippling in anticipation, her eyes were close but she could tell that the entire scene was changing. She could feel something new, and it felt cold – it felt lonely and horrible – she felt the force flinch slightly. Somehow, she felt she wouldn't like what she would see here. The force brewed around her – swirling like a storm – as if prepared the vision. Behind her eyelids she could see bright orange and red; blending into each other like leaves in autumn._

_Then she felt the searing heat; it scorched her skin – it was so real that she almost forgot this was a simple vision. She felt her heart begin to race. Deep down, she knew where she was – she knew what her Master was making her see – but she didn't want to believe it. Force, not again. Please not again. When she opened her eyes, her heart sank to the pits of her stomach._

_Her suspicions were right._

_This was Mustafar._

_And her Master and Obi-Wan were battling again. Their lightsabers clashing like thunder and hissing like a ferocious beast. Once upon a time, the hum of a lightsaber brought her comfort but now it was almost like a funeral march – a torturing sound that rang in her head unbearably._

_They were fighting, and all the while she stood helpless to stop it; knowing what would happen but being incapable of preventing it…this was her punishment; for messing with things that ought not be messed with. For betrayed the Jedi._

"_Watch." Ahsoka didn't dare turn around to look at her Masters mutilated body. "Watch what you do to me." He told her angrily, pointing at the fighting pair._

"_I can't." Obi-Wan had just jumped onto the bank, proclaimed that he 'had the higher ground.' Ahsoka turned her head away and looked at the floor._

"_Look." Anakin snarled, grabbing her head and forcing it up; forcing her to watch the scene play._

_Ahsoka watched in transfixed horror as her mentor leapt into the air; tucking up as he somersaulted over his former teacher, having no idea what was to come. Leaping boldly in his arrogance, overestimating his abilities._

_Anakin and Ahsoka both cried out at the same time._

"_No!" Ahsoka reached out for her teacher; forgetting it was merely a glimpse of what was to come. "No. Master. No."_

_He scrambled on the ground – writhing in absolute agony. His heart-wrenching moans of pain rang through the girl's head, constantly on replay, and they kept going and going; torturing her, already unstable, mind._

"_Help him." She shouted to Obi-Wan; who was stood higher up on the bank. "Please…please. Help him."_

_Her hoarse screams and pleas fell on deaf ears; no-one eve knew she was hear. She was nothing but a ghost to them. She wasn't real – she wasn't there. She could do nothing._

"_See what you've done." Anakin told her, his eerie voice startling her._

_Ahsoka span around, accusation shining in her eyes like small flames. She shook her head in horror, trying to dispel the images from her head, trying to forgot what she had just seen happen. It couldn't happen; it couldn't. Obi-Wan didn't do that – she was seeing things…she had to be!_

_Ahsoka hunched over. Sure, she had seen this before but last time she had been able to turn able, she hadn't seen Obi-Wan lightsaber slice through his flesh, she hadn't heard the hiss as it seared through the skin, muscle and bones. She hadn't seen the act. And she wished she hadn't; it made everything so much worse._

"_I'm sorry." Ahsoka told her Master quietly, a fragile voice that was almost broken. "I'm so very sorry."_

"_That means nothing to me. You're pathetic; certainly not good enough to be my Padawan" Anakin sneered at her, his face like something out of a nightmare._

_He gave her one last hate-filled glare before disappearing completely; leaving her with the tortured screams of the burning Anakin Skywalker. Leaving her to watch him set on fire._

_It was all too much. Ahsoka felt her head, and heart, would explode in a ball of burning flames – just like her Master. She feared she would break out into tears of extraordinary hurt and, once she started, she would forget how to stop. _

_Then something moved, a slight shift in the shadows that Ahsoka's highly tuned senses picked up within a second. Her heart stopped. Her head turned. And she faced him._

_It was him. She was sure of it, it was the man who was causing her anguish, the man who had brought her safe life to a standstill. The boss. He seemed to meld into the shadows; she wasn't quite sure where he started and the shadows began._

_But…but…but. How was he here? He wasn't just part of the dream, she could tell he wasn't something conjured up by her imagination. No, he was actually here – or at least his mental presence was._

_Ahsoka felt her head spin; so many questions attacked her. How was he here? It took special abilities to enter someone's head - their dreams – it took more than anyone of those gangsters could ever posses Her Master had only recently learned how to do it and he was the most powerful Jedi ever. No way – the boss couldn't possibly do that. But then, how was he here? _

_Then it hit her. Maybe – just maybe – he wasn't quite as normal as he let on. What if he wasn't quite as normal as Ahsoka had assumed – what if he had a little extra? What if he had a few more midichlorians than she had thought…_

_Oh force…_

_Then she really did have a problem here._

_Then he noticed her staring, and the nightmare ended._

* * *

**AN: Some plot development here for you guys to ponder on whilst I write the next chapter**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Ahsoka was running, she was always running, but now it was time to stop. She had been afraid for too long – she'd taken the coward's way out every time – and now, now she couldn't look in the mirror without shuddering in repulsion.

He had used her. The boss had manipulated her and preyed on her fear; moulding her into something that could so easily be blackmailed, he'd weakened her and made her something that was fearful and unsure. He'd used her.

But it was all over now. She knew something was wrong – way more so than the obvious – she knew that there was something funny about him, and his entire organisation. But she'd just pushed all those questions away to the back of her mind; she'd ignored the hints and failed to see what should've been obvious. She was – as they intended her to be – distracted.

She'd known from the start they weren't normal and she'd left it at that. But why? Why had she not investigated? Why didn't she think? She was more of a cowardly idiot than she initially thought. Why hadn't she sensed it?

Because, while she was wrapped up in her own silly problems, she had failed to see what was staring her in the face. This gang – this group of impossibly skilled people – weren't just exceptional people…

…they were force sensitive. And she hadn't noticed. How had she not noticed? Was she so ignorant that she'd not heard the whispered warnings? Was she so thick that she just pushed them aside? Force, forgive her - she had failed.

It explained so much. How they'd infiltrated the temple the first time and had so easily killed all those younglings because, even though they were young, it should not have been so easy – not if they were normal.

Ahsoka put her hand on the window and bowed her head. Then they'd done it again - broke into the temple - and they'd tried to take her; that should've rang some alarm bells. How in all of the Corellian hells had they managed to get in again? Surely that should've crossed her mind at some point. And then, she'd been to their own little hidey-hole, she'd been in the presence of quite a few of them and still – she'd felt the worrying aura of the room – but she'd ignored her better instincts, _she'd turned her back on the force_, and she hadn't even bothered to dig deeper in the warning she'd been given.

And, since she had turned her back on the force, then it had turned its back on her. And she deserves every ounce of its payback, for she had not seen what should've been seen.

This was her darkest hour.

It was a funny feeling; failure. It had its way of seeding itself deep within your very bones and radiating out its poisoning hurt into your whole being. It didn't fade. It didn't stop. It ached at you and it never quite left – not ever – you were always reminded of what you had done, and you always wonder what could've been, had you been strong enough to fight it.

Well, she would wonder no longer. This was her time, she could feel it - she knew that if she didn't stand up now then soon there wouldn't be anything left to fight for. If she continued to let this group twist her and mould her then she would lose everything she had battled to save. She would end this. She had to plot and plan and destroy them. She would be cunning and manipulative; putting every single skill she had to use - she wouldn't allow to continue. Now she knew who they where - _what_ they were - she knew that they were so much more dangerous, and therefore she could not help them anymore, they were worse than she had ever imagined. And, she had a feeling she didn't even know half of their story yet.

She had to stop them.

This time, it was a 'do or die' mission.

Ahsoka walked out of her room, ignoring the empty loneliness she felt like she was walking into – a cloud that hovered around her. She steeled herself and carried on. She had started this mess, it was only fit that she was the one to end it. She had to investigate – find out more – then, and only then, would she take them down.

She just needed to make a plan first. There'd be no use in barging in and drawing her lightsaber – she'd be killed. It was suicidal. She had to be smart. Plan and put her pieces into place before…checkmate.

* * *

On the other side of the temple, an aged female Jedi sat in meditation. An oracle, she was called by many. And she was entitled to brief but detailed glimpses into what was to come, she saw the galaxy as it was and she could see a little of what was to come. She was privileged to see what could happen, what would happen, and what must _never_ happen. She saw the Universe as it was and as it would be, in the future, she was able to watch things happen before they actually came to be. Her gift allowed her to help guide the Jedi to the right path but lately they had ignored her. She had told them, she had said they needed to change but the Masters - set in their precious tradition - refused. Well, let them see what their tradition got them. She would not regret it, she had done all she could - and the force had promised her survival - it had told her she'd live.

She knew little of Anakin Skywalker's fate; to most he was a blind spot in their foresight, and – with the darkness shrouding their vision – she found it hard to predict prophecies and the future now. But, right now, she could feel they were on the verge of a giant shift. A battle was coming. _Her_ battle; it was the lonely child's battle. And this battle was only the beginning; it was the tidal wave before the tsunami.

Behind this battle - the lonely child's war - came another; much darker and traumatic one. One which she knew would decimate everything they had worked to build. It was almost fixed – the ball had started rolling and they had almost reached a point of no return. The oracle believed it too late to stop the darkness overcoming the galaxy, but perhaps they could save the lonely child – for she knew that, if she were saved, a great role she will have to play in the future.

"Seen something, you have." Master Yoda hobbled into the Jedi's quarters, his eyes woeful and cautious. As if he too knew what was fated to happen to the young girl, and then the galaxy.

"The lonely child will stand." She spoke in a saddened drawl. "And she will rise higher than ever and then fall so much further. This will be her defining moment. She will both win and lose." She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "There is a storm coming – _her_ storm – and behind that looms a hurricane. We will not win this time, old friend."

Yoda did not say anything in return. He simply stood - his eyes woeful and tired. And Master Yoda pondered everything that they had done – everything that was to come – and he wondered. Perhaps, they had doomed themselves. Had he asked the oracle, she would blankly agree and tell him what she had tried to tell him: 'change is needed or we will die'

* * *

Ahsoka ran her hands along the cool yellowing stone as she walked down the spiralling staircase, her legs wobbling under strain from every step. She looked up at the flights and flights of stairs above her; she was down on the lower levels of the temple now.

She stopped when she finally reached the bottom, looking at the old-fashioned door in front of her, the brown wood on the elegant door was peeling and rotting from neglect. The coiling handle, that was once bright and beautiful, was covered in a layer of dirt and dust, forgotten, as was everything from here on in.

She found herself in the courtyard before she could blink, her eager mind seeking the solemn quiet of the beautiful – yet horrible – place. Her fingers still skimmed lightly over the worn stone, cool as ice under her hands, a welcome chill to her racing body.

Everything was so impossibly out of control for her. Could there be answers here? She doubted it. She didn't know why she continued to return here, it was such an awful place but…she felt at home here. Even now…after everything that had happened.

She needed somewhere where she could feel liked she belonged, especially now. She knew that she was at a turning point, that whatever decision she made would impact everyone.

She wished she could go back to being a youngling; when she had no responsibility – it was all deferred onto those older and more experienced. She missed being young – where the most difficult decision she had to make was what colour lightsaber crystal she wanted.

But, most of all, she missed her innocence.

What should she do? Things were out of hand – completely out of control – she felt like she wasn't in charge of her own life anymore, not like she was in charge at the beginning but at least her ties to the Jedi did not involve illegal and immoral activities. What she was doing…it was the opposite of everything she had been raised to believe in and respect.

She kinda figured that she needed to fix things; she decided that it wasn't worth it anymore. She was losing everything she had signed up to protect; she and her Master were falling apart. She didn't even know if there was any point fixing the relationship now; neither of them trusted the other anymore, if they didn't have trust then what was there to build a friendship on?

She had no-one. Not anymore. Blissany was her only friend, amongst the other Padawans and younglings she was an outcast. She was the Padawan of the almighty 'Chosen one', she was the child who'd been apprenticed at a young age – to the jealousy of her peers.

All the other kids were so horrible and cruel to her; they picked on her all day, everyday – why did they never stop? – nobody even noticed, they cast it off as playful banter. Kids will be kids, right? Plus, Ahsoka suspected the other Masters – her tutors – didn't like her much either, she was the know-it-all, the overachiever, she sometimes thought they enjoyed watching her suffer. Even her Master didn't notice, he never saw the cruel glares tossed her way or the harsh threats and jabs that bombarded her. Or maybe he just didn't care.

She was the girl everybody picked on.

Ahsoka slumped onto a bench. Every now and then, in a moment of pure fantastical pondering, she wondered if she could just leave. Run and run and run and never look back, leave the temple in pursuit of a proper life - a real life – with parents to keep her safe, siblings to play with and friends that would stand by her. She supposed that she did have all that out in the galaxy…somewhere.

In her head she held an image, an image of a beautiful woman with bright blue eyes and the same markings as her. The woman was smiling at her, just smiling – nothing more or less – but it was one of those smiles that conveyed a thousand words, those smiles that held happiness and pride and beauty and wonder; it was the strongest and most beautiful memory – or maybe it was simply a dream – she had.

She didn't get those smiles anymore…not at the temple. No-one cared about her that much.

She wished she could run away, maybe it _would_ be better…but the temple was all she had ever known, she was too cowardly to change.

Ahsoka shuddered slightly as the force ran over her, an icy tingle travelling down her spine. She wasn't alone. She'd been too distracted to sense it when she'd first entered the room but now she felt it, the intruder was…above her?

"Oh!" Ahsoka looked up at the figure curled up in one of the window arches. "I'm sorry, erm, I didn't realise this place was taken."

The young girl sat on the bench lifted her head up from where it had previously rested on her tucked up knees, looking at Ahsoka through blank eyes. A sort of emptiness had settled there, it was disconcerting to say the least.

"It doesn't really matter." The girl said in a chime-like voice "I mean, neither of us are supposed to be here. This place is forbidden. Feel free to stay."

Ahsoka smiled slightly, before standing and walking over to the high window arch and sitting on the floor below it, looking up at the girl through sad eyes. Had this girl too lost a friend here, in the massacre?

"I'm Ahsoka, Ahsoka Tano." She felt the need to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Briseis Senfora." She replied simply.

Ahsoka smiled at the girl, the smile fell when she only stared at her, and Ahsoka looked around the place uncomfortably, when the massacre had occurred, she would spend most of her time down here, after all, this was the last place her friend had breathed in. This place was important and she wasn't afraid of it so she would sit here and remember her friend for hours…but it had been weeks, she had been too tied up in her own catastrophic world to do anything else.

She felt like she had…cheated on her friend – Blissany – she felt like she had forgotten her and had neglected to even spare a thought her way. She felt selfish and twisted and cruel. She was aiding and abetting the very group that had stolen her friend from her. What sort of sick twisted person would do that? Who was she becoming?

"Are you a Padawan?" She asked her silent companion.

Only after that question did the girl smile, it was cold and warped, a look of sadness rather than happiness. Although, her eyes held an inkling of pride and they seemed to stare straight through Ahsoka, as if she were in a different place. "I was." A pause to take a deep unsettling breath. "Once."

Ahsoka turned her body slightly, so she was facing the sad stranger, the Togruta drew her knees up to her chest and rested her head on top, her face indicating for the girl to go on. Her eyes sparkling with an unrestrained curiosity, which was not at all shadowed by the dark bags of sleepiness under her eyes, she looked up at the girl, keeping her gaze on her.

"Of course, I know _you_ are a Padawan." She spoke, her chime like voice seemed to bounce of the cold harsh walls, rebounding unsettlingly. "Everyone knows that you're Knight Skywalker's Padawan."

"Yeah."

"So tell me, Ahsoka Tano, what is a good little Padawan like yourself doing in a place like this?" She levelled her icy look on Ahsoka. "The Masters forbid younglings and Padawans from venturing down here."

Ahsoka paused for a second, frowning slightly. That was a good question. Why did she keep coming back here?...who knew. "I never was a stickler for rules."

"One would think, after all, there are rumours about you and your exploits." Briseis continued in her Coruscanti accent. "Rumour has it that you have been frequenting the underworld of late, you even continue after been forbidden by your own Master, a daring feat for a Padawan. Tell me, Ahsoka Tano, what interests you down there?"

"That…is none of your business."

"Perhaps."Briseis hopped out of her seat, standing and looking out of a window arch in the corridor, her hands clasped neatly in front of her. "However, I already know."

"You…wait…what?" Ahsoka bounced to her feet in a split second.

"You are not the only one being used and blackmailed by them." She stared blankly at the teen when she turned back around. "Although, you are the more intelligent of the two of us, you didn't challenge them…you didn't try and call their bluff."

Ahsoka frowned. "They're using you too?" Ahsoka didn't know what to think, how many Jedi had these people managed to pull into their dangerous activities? "Who are they threatening though; you said you aren't a Padawan…anymore." Ahsoka faltered for a few seconds, her mind connecting the dots. "They killed your Master because you refused."

"Not killed…no, not killed." She blinked a few times; Ahsoka could've sworn she saw tears there. "They hurt him though, very badly."

"I'm sorry." Ahsoka said quickly.

"Don't be, I did not tell you this to gain your sympathy, I did it to give you a warning." Her eyes were harsh and cold again now. "Don't underestimate them."

"I'm not." Ahsoka replied in a somewhat indignant tone. "I think I know what is at stake."

"Do you?" She pressed. "Do you?"

"Yes!" Ahsoka glowered at the girl. "And I don't need some little 12 year old telling me what to do."

The girl laughed, a hollow, cackling, high-pitched sound that make Ahsoka's spine twinge and shudder involuntarily, a cold sensation running down it like an electric shock. The Togruta shied away from the harsh sound, hating how it shot through her headtails so painfully, firing up her nerves.

"Oh, for a girl that looks half-dead, there is surprising amounts of life in you yet." She applauded her slightly. "You are most amusing; I should visit you more often."

Ahsoka muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like 'Please don't' before rolling her eyes and folding her arms over her chest.

"You know how this will end don't you?" She was all serious once again now. "Everything we both know will be destroyed."

Ahsoka was quick to ask. "Have you been having visions?"

"No…I simply listen to the force, I know that something is going to happen." Briseis looked into the distance, as if trying to recall something. "But the precise details are withheld from me…the force hasn't deemed me important enough to know. But I know that the Oracle has been having visions lately, Master Yoda has been frequenting her quarters. Something's coming – something big."

Ahsoka leant back on the window frame behind her, her arms still folded heavily over her chest; she let her eyes close for a few minutes, wondering what to do, where to go from there. If they were doomed then perhaps they should stop trying to fight their fate, and simply try to save as many as possible. For the continuation of the order but…telling them would mean she would be betraying her Master.

"Can you hear it, Ahsoka?" Came Briseis' quiet mumble. "Can you hear the whispering?"

"What?"

"It never stops, they're always there." Briseis seemed to have almost zoned out completely, talking to herself more than Ahsoka. "They never leave. They're scared."

Briseis seemed to shudder slightly before blinking a few times and shutting her eyes, leaning her head back against the cool stone, her face the epitome of troubled worry.

Leaving Ahsoka slightly scared and confused, what did she mean?

Both of the girls knew that something big was going to happen, something that neither of them could control. The ball was already rolling, all they could do was slow it down, try to stop the events from occurring too soon.

The eye of the storm – something Ahsoka hated to admit – was centred on her Master, it revolved around him like a hurricane, ferociously growing in strength and biding its time. Ahsoka feared that, despite her best efforts, she would lose him.

"What do you think they're doing?" Briseis looked at Ahsoka. "The organisation." She clarified. "What do they need us for?"

"I don't know…I try not to think about it." Ahsoka met the young girls gaze. "Makes me feel less treasonous."

"Must be important, they're willing to risk all this, risk making an enemy of the Jedi." Briseis shook her head a little. "I fear they will do some damage to us all."

"Haven't they already done that?" Came Ahsoka's wry comment as she leant her head back against the cool stone. Her mind fixed on all that had happened, and she feared was yet to come.

* * *

**Please review :)**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

She and Briseis had stayed there all night. Neither talked very much; there was nothing left to talk about, but it comforted both of them slightly. Knowing they had the presence of an ally – someone who understood, who really understood, and were in a similar position.

When the first trickles of sunlight crept in through the window – the golden glow bouncing off the walls and giving the room an orange hue – Briseis took her leave, mumbling something about having to be somewhere and saying she would seek her out later, Ahsoka had dutifully nodded and let her go.

And now, she was on her own, and left to ponder the developments before her. She wasn't alone anymore. Briseis, too, was being threatened, and she was apparently privy to much more information than her – after all, she had known that Ahsoka had been enlisted by the organisation – if she knew that then maybe she knew if there were others. She wondered what else Vipera had told the girl.

Despite having Briseis alongside her, Ahsoka still felt so alone – Briseis was even younger than her – she couldn't rely on her to fix things, no, that wasn't right. Ahsoka was the oldest so, by default, the responsibility fell on her shoulders.

For what felt like the 500th time lately, Ahsoka wished that she could confide in her Master – he just had this way of making her feel safe, like she didn't have to worry anymore. She trusted him completely – he was the only person she trusted so fully, and lying to him like this felt so wrong. It was like lying to your best friend; it sits heavily on the heart.

Thinking about her Master made the child within her stir, she wished he were here now – even though he knew nothing – she just needed someone to be there. So she didn't feel as alone. Were she a better person – a braver person - she would seek him out and simply ask for a shoulder to cry on, but her pride was in the way, as well as the fear of too many questions she couldn't answer arising. Though, a small nagging part of her mind was simply saying 'what the hell' in response to her fears – it told her to forget her pride and just tell him, things couldn't exactly get much worse.

Her wrist comm beeped and Ahsoka almost threw it at the wall. Could she not have one minute to herself? Seriously?

"Tano." She ground out irritably as she hit the button.

"Ahsoka?" That was a familiar voice for sure. "Hi there, it's Padme. I don't suppose you could help me, I'm supposed to be meeting with the Council but I'm a bit lost, could you spare a few minutes to help me find my way?"

That was a lie, Ahsoka sensed it clearly, and even if she were without the force, the Senator had visited the Council chambers plenty of times before and she certainly knew where it was. The Senator obviously was sticking her nose in – no doubt enlisted by her Master to try wheedle some information out - but Ahsoka neither had the energy nor the will to throw the appropriate temper tantrum, whilst it would've been fun to throw and deeply satisfying – ridding her of some of those pent up emotions – it would've solved nothing and, worse, would've got back to her Master and he was terribly sensitive about what was said to his oh-so-precious Padme.

"Sure." Ahsoka nearly snapped into the commlink. "Where are you?"

"At the main visitors entrance, thank you so much, Ahsoka." She said in that tone that made her seem so innocent, yeah…right.

Ahsoka turned the comm off without even a goodbye, and growled lowly and threateningly. Whilst she managed to temper and restrain the ire and betrayal she felt at her Master, she had no such constraints for the vixen that had seduced him and put him in such a danger situation. One whisper to the council and he would be thrown out; all because of that woman.

She had always thought Padme was someone she could trust but apparently Master was right about politicians, none of them were worth your trust – not even Padme.

* * *

Ahsoka looked out across the long mezzanine, her pace sharp and quick – hoping to get rid of the Senator as soon as possible. She wasn't in the mood to be around her – not after her betrayal. No way. She kept her gaze straight forwards, answering any questions with clipped, one-word replies. She hoped the woman got the message.

Padme grew more and more disturbed as they walked. What had happened to that sweet girl she loved? What had turned her so very cold? Who'd hurt her? She bristled slightly, how could anyone even think about harming someone so sweet, so innocent.

Padme had grown to care very deeply for the child, she considered her more than friends with the girl – she was practically family. So, to see her so…damaged, it made the deepest levels of her heart ache, a dull resounding ache. She had sworn to herself to protect Ahsoka. When the teen had come to her for help, when Ahsoka had felt like she was the only person she could turn to, she had sworn that she would help her but…she'd failed. Oh so terribly judging by her current state.

"How did you sleep last night?" More small talk on Padme's behalf, a desperate attempt to end the silence that was breaking her heart; Ahsoka was never silent – _never_ – what had happened? She was so desperate to know.

Another harsh reply flew from Ahsoka's lip in an almost bored tone. "Same as the night before; by closing my eyes and seeing what happened naturally after that."

"Right, stop." Padme grabbed one of Ahsoka's arms, facing the smaller girl. "What's wrong with you?"

"Wrong with me? Nothing is wrong with me." Ahsoka replied in a sharp tone. "Why would anything be wrong, Senator? What's wrong with you?"

"That's exactly why." She pointed out gently, putting a hand on the girls shoulder, trying not to be too downheartedly when she shook it off. "Have I done something wrong?"

"Forget it." Ahsoka turned to walk again.

"No." Padme grabbed for her again but Ahsoka jumped back.

"Don't touch me." She snapped "I just…I can't believe you. I mean, my Master?…how could you? What were you thinking?"

"Ahsoka?" Padme looked confused but horrified, she couldn't know. How could she know? They'd been so careful. She took a deep calming breath before composing herself. Perhaps, she was overreacting – maybe Ahsoka was referring to something else. Yes. Yes, that must be it.

Ahsoka caught onto Padme's thought train and instantly sought to put her mind to _rest_ and inform her of exactly what she knew. "What? Surprised that someone found out about your risqué rendezvous'? Did you think that no-one was watching the pair of you? Did you have it all planned out? Did you think I wouldn't figure it out?" Ahsoka put on a childlike expression of mocking and lightly put a hand over her mouth, rolling her eyes. "Did you think wee little Ahsoka would never wever wever even figure it out?"

Padme saw a nearby alcove and pointed to it, quickly walking over, her face shocked at the callous way in which Ahsoka mocked her – sure she'd met cruel people before but this was Ahsoka; sweet little Ahsoka, her husband's Padawan. She'd never acted like this before. "What do you mean? I think you're getting yourself worked up over nothing, maybe you just mistook something – Anakin and I are friends. What's wrong?"

"No. No. Don't do that, don't patronise me, don't try and make me think I'm confused." Ahsoka shook her head. "I know, Padme. So, why don't you go back to Anakin and stop pretending like calling me up here was for any other reason than your sad devotion to him. Did he ask you to find out what's 'wrong with me?'" Ahsoka inserted finger quotations along with rolled eyes. "Is he not gutsy enough to face me himself?"

"Ahsoka-" Padme scolded but Ahsoka cut her off.

"Don't even try to scold me, fair bit of the pot calling the kettle black there, isn't there?" Ahsoka folded her arms over her chest and intensified her glare, her eyes flashing with something Padme didn't ever want to see in those baby blue orbs again. "You lied to me, both of you, and now you expect me to be respectful and lovely? Excuse me while I laugh." Ahsoka make the act of turning around and letting out a harsh 'ha!' and then looking back at Padme "Forget it!"

"We thought it best; to protect you."

Ahsoka's anger brewed over, like water bubbling over the sizzling pain. She exploded in a vibrant fashion – her force signature pulsating with anger and fury. Padme and Anakin could deny it, they could claim that it was none of her business but how dare they imply that the secrets were for her benefit; that the lies were to protect her. How dare they? None of this was to protect her, they never thought of her once in their selfish agendas.

And the worst part was, there secret had done the opposite, because of them she was being blackmailed into aiding the organisation. It ironic really, the fact that they had kept the secret to protect her – or so they said – but really all it had done was get her in more danger. The irony wasn't lost on Ahsoka either and it only contributed to her anger.

"Well great job there." She mock-applauded the Senator. "I mean you've _so_ protected me. I mean, it's not like I'm in danger at all is it? Between all the blackmailing and threats and abuse I'm getting now, I am so definitely protected. Thankyou Padme." Ahsoka mock-bowed and turned to leave the small alcove.

"Woah, woah, woah." Once again, Padme had grabbed Ahsoka's arm, making sure the young girl couldn't leave. "What do you mean?"

Ahsoka's anger drained as she realised the implications of what she had just told Padme, of the information she had just unknowingly divulged, like an angry child with a mouth that ran too much. Oh force, she couldn't have – she'd been so careful yet everything had spilt out in a moment of careless anger. She was an idiot.

"Ahsoka!" Padme prompted. "Explain yourself, you're not leaving until you tell me what you meant."

Instantly, Ahsoka backpedalled, looking to fix this mess anyway she could, looking for any escape route. "I meant nothing, I just blathered on. It was nothing."

"No!" That was the first time Ahsoka had ever heard Padme raise her voice during the confrontation before calming herself and bringing it down to almost a lecturing tone. "Correct me if I'm wrong but I specifically heard you say that you were being blackmailed, threatened and abused. Ahsoka, talk to me. What do you mean?" The look in Padme's eyes almost had Ahsoka's resolve crumbling – it almost had her break down and tell the older woman everything…_almost_.

"I…I…forget it. I lied. I was just looking for attention." Ahsoka winced at the pathetic lie that had fallen out of her mouth.

"Ahsoka, I have two nieces – I know when children are acting out for attention, and I know when they are genuinely being hurt. When kids act out for attention it's obvious." Padme told her firmly, refusing to back down. "And this is not one of those time."

The child remark made Ahsoka bristle – her anger came back to her with vengeance - she wasn't like Padme's kriffing nieces, she was most certainly not a kriffing child. She was an adult! And deserved to be treated as such, and in a typically mature, and definitely not childish, fashion she hissed. "Save the mothering for yours and _his_ baby. Why bother with me? I know I'm not important enough for yours and _his_ consideration." The way Ahsoka hissed 'his' took Padme aback long enough for Ahsoka to snatch her arm out of her grasp and run but before she was too far, she turned back to snarl. "I am not a _child_."

Padme stood there still, very very still. The tone in which Ahsoka had hissed in her had shaken her – she wasn't afraid of her, no, nothing could make her fear Ahsoka, Padme knew that the girl wasn't truly like this. But, the pure spite and venom in which she spoke to her – the way she spat 'his' in reference to Anakin; her own Master. It was like she was a whole other girl.

Despite the hurt that twanged through her, the conversation had proved worth its while. The way Ahsoka reacted had proved useful; it told Padme that her concern was well placed. Had Ahsoka been fine – had she been telling the truth and there not being anything hurting her – she wouldn't have reacted so fiercely. She was such a typical child – despite what she said – Jedi training or not, kids lashed out when they felt backed into a corner.

Padme felt a twinge of guilt; she shouldn't have backed her into the corner like that. She shouldn't have pushed her. Ahsoka wouldn't trust her again; she would see her as a threat and would avoid her entirely. Sure, she had managed to get her answers, she had managed to look into Ahsoka's condition like Anakin asked – he had thought she would respond better to a female friend, someone on the outside – but now, she feared she had pushed her even further away from them.

This was the last thing they needed; Anakin was already under so much stress – so much pressure, she feared he would run himself into an early grave at this rate. And poor Ahsoka was so fragile and broken at the minute, the last thing she needed was to feel like she and Anakin were against her – despite how blasé and uncaring Ahsoka had just acted, Padme knew that Ahsoka truly valued what they thought of her, which only strengthened Padme's belief that something was seriously wrong. Ahsoka would never normally say such cruel things.

* * *

**Please review dudes. Love it or hate it? I kinda felt like Ahsoka needed to explode at someone - the whole secrecy thing was driving her crazy - and Padme was the first person to come to mind, especially since I need to get her back in the story. Sorry if you felt Ahsoka was OOC, I figured that anyone in that situation would lose it - especially a kid who doesn't know what to do anymore.**


	24. Chapter 24

**The Anakin-Ahsoka confrontation won't be in this chapter but maybe the next, or the one after - I don't know I haven't written it yet. But don't worry, you'll get your drama, I have the plan laid out.**

* * *

**Chapter 24**

Ahsoka marched down the corridor; her anger brewing like a deadly storm and everything and anything only added to the raging hurricane – even the click-click of her shoes was adding to her ire, providing more wood to burn in the raging fire.

Soon the clickity-clackity rhythm of her shoes increased as one thought repeated through her head, it resounded like never ending drums that banged and echoed and rumbled - It was maddening – _run. Run_. That's all she could comprehend, she lived the word; she breathed the word. She _was_ the word.

Her mind was focused on everything yet nothing. She felt dizzy from the way it raced – it seemed to fling itself about the cage of her skull and rattle around precariously – as if it didn't care what damaged it did to her fragile psyche - screaming it's protest to the world. But no-one could hear it. No-one heard her scream silently.

_Run_

She had well and truly messed this up. What had she been thinking? Had she so little control over her emotions? She should be better than this; exploding at a few probes, revealing _everything_ in the space of a few short minutes. She was just as pathetic as everyone said she was – the Masters, the bullies, the galaxy – she had done nothing but prove that. And imagine the mocking that would come after this crisis? She wasn't even strong enough to fend off a bunch of gangsters.

Now she had to keep going. Just keep running, just keep running – never look back – they would all know by morning. They'd think her weak, they'd look at her in pity and say that it couldn't be avoided; they'd say they expected nothing better. And she wouldn't be able to take it. They would point and whisper; they would say they had anticipated her fall from the moment she stood.

_Run_

She couldn't stop. She couldn't slow down, she had to keep going…and she had to…stop…to stop thinking. Her own thoughts had now turned against her. They shrieked at her and threw harsh words threw the fragile tendrils of her dying mind.

She was all alone – and that was when it got worse; everything started raining down. Sure, she could act and pretend to be a happy teenager – until she was alone, then everything came crashing down as she realised how her delicate weave of lies and deception was not just choking her – but her whole life, and everyone in it, too.

As the enormity of her actions began to truly dawn on Ahsoka, her eyes began to sting but she just couldn't cry – she was so very afraid of crying – for she knew if she cried that first tear then she wouldn't be able to stop, not ever. The sadness – the dull ache in her very being – would consume her and destroy her from the inside out.

_Run_

No. No crying. She would stand her ground – as she was taught. She would remember her training, and she would remember what she had been taught since childhood; how to fight, and how to die. She would no longer be the underdog.

She knew the only way out of this mess would be to confront all she had been running from – that vile, terrifying group – and no-one would be able to save her, not this time. She wanted someone to find her and keep her safe. But, she was to fight this battle alone; she would stand up for everything she'd ever valued.

Though she so desperately wanted to give and curl up in a corner.

She would do her duty…for the Republic.

Ahsoka's knees buckled and she fell heavily to the ground, rolling along the ground a little as her momentum carried her. She felt her head throb horribly, and the force screamed at her – something was wrong, it was so very anxious. Perhaps this was one of those dizzy spells she'd been warned about after the damage to her headtails.

No. No, she didn't feel dizzy – just lethargic and groggy. It was like the whole world had slowed down and zoomed out. She felt like she was floating – like she wasn't really there anymore.

Then she recognised the familiar feelings of being forced to sleep – seemingly the force was the attacker – before she could stop it.

* * *

_Ahsoka walked through the dark building; her eyes glued to the shadows which seemed to slither and squirm impatiently – as if they were waiting for something. It was unsettling. She shuddered slightly as the darkness that suffocated the room wrapped its cold tendrils around her, tugging and pulling at her, trying to claim her for its own._

_It was so very cold, and it was more than just a chilly cold; it was the sort that had a bite to it, it attacked you both physically and mentally – passing through your very bones. It was the sort of cold created by darkness; by the darkside._

_Ahsoka turned on the spot - not quite knowing where she was facing; it was so very dark._

_Her eyes fixed to an orange glow emanating from a spot in the distance, if she squinted a little she could make out that the orange light was framing a door in a dark wall._

_An electrical pulse of childish impulsiveness shot through her, and simultaneously the door beckoned her to it with its warm golden hue that seemed to penetrate the darkness boldly. Its own little rebellion in a dark world, it fought out to destroy the dark dominion of the unsettling room._

_Ahsoka fumbled through the dark for a few embarrassingly awkward seconds before her hands found the doors control panel and she forced her thumb into the one which opened the door._

_Ahsoka vaguely remembered reading a very old book in her literature classes – ones which she had been avoiding like the plague since she became a Padawan – she remembered a specific part of that book; one quote used to describe something that wasn't quite as it seemed: 'looking like the innocent flower, but being the serpent underneath.'_

_That quote – that very one from the very old book by some famous old author that Ahsoka couldn't recall – summed up her situation exactly._

_The warm golden hue of before was like a harsh spotlight now, hitting her like a bomb, and attacking every inch of her. Anything that had seemed warm and welcoming about this room was long gone; especially when she recognised whom the room housed._

_The boss._

_Ahsoka idly thought of how fitting that it was that – in her mind – this mysterious and dangerous man had no name; just a title. But, name or not, he still struck fear deep within her core._

_The man hadn't noticed her, for her was too busy conversing with an associate. Ahsoka inched closer – realising that the man hadn't noticed her. She stopped when she saw the face of the man – no…boy – the boss was talking to. The spiky hair – fixed in place by dollops of disgustingly sticky hair gel, and dark brown eyes that seemed to glow with mischief – in an irritating way._

_His name was Witt Sharkey. He was the same age as her. He was a Padawan. She had a few classes with him – when she bothered to show up; lately that hadn't been often, she got a cheap thrill from hiding in the lower-levels during her tutorials. _

_Ahsoka had never really spoken to the boy – he was one of the interesting, popular Padawans that everyone wanted to be friends with. He had always seemed very snobbish and stuck-up to her, waltzing around like he was in charge._

_But he had never seemed like the sort that could be blackmailed. On the contrary, he seemed like the sort to do the blackmailing._

"_I don't like this." Witt mumbled darkly. His eyes glued to his hands, which were clasped neatly in front of him. "That element is dangerous. You know what chemical properties it has? It can rip apart our very bodies if we get close."_

_Ahsoka felt an icy chill of warning creep up her spine like a cautious spider. She didn't like where this was going. The small amount of information she had heard already pointed her in one direction._

"_Seraphium is a very value rock. It's imperative that I get a hold of it." The boss replied in a simple tone._

_That little chill in Ahsoka's spine broke out into an all out blizzard of frosty apprehension._

_That rock – Seraphium – was so unbelievably dangerous. It had so many qualities to it that could wreak havoc and cause pandemonium. It didn't even have to be in physical proximity to kill you, the electrical cloud it created would decompose organic matter in a few minutes. Ahsoka knew that from her own experience with the stone – when they had first discovered it. Her arm twanged, as if it remembered how close it had come to being destroyed._

_The thing was dangerous – any idiot knew that – and it certainly wasn't for civilian usage. It was meant to be top-secret anyway. How the hell had Vipera found out of that?_

"_What'd'ya even need it for?" Witt asked. His sharp eyes staring piercingly at the boss._

"_All you need to know is that the collection of the rock will be the only thing that keeps your sister alive."_

"_Leave her alone." Witt stood up quickly, pointing his finger at the boss. "She's just a little girl, I haven't had contact with her since I came to the temple. You can't do that. She doesn't even remember me."_

"_But you remember her, and that is all that matters." The boss too stood." Now you listen to me, boy. You are going to get in there."_

"_There's no way. You out of your kriffing mind?" He cursed angrily. "There are 32 cameras in the room alone, all on separate circuits, and they cover every possible square foot of the room. There are four shifts of 22 armed guards stationed around the room 24-hours a day. And six shifts of 4 Jedi stationed there. Full time." Spit flew from Witt's mouth as he got even angrier. "There are heat detectors, life sign scanners, pressurised alarms, and random invisible lasers. And that's just the stuff on record, there are so many more things put into use to protect that box."_

"_Do you need another Jedi to help?" He queried – completely unbothered by the high security vault the stone was held in._

"_I'm gonna need a karking army of Jedi to pull this off." He ran his hands through his hair._

_The boss appeared to consider this for a few seconds. "Briseis Senfora and Ahsoka Tano. Are they enough of an army for you?"_

"_Not even close."_

"_Well they are all I can spare." He replied indifferently._

"_Goody."_

"_If things get difficult I shall send in members of the organisation to extract you and the package."_

"_Oh yeah." Witt scoffed. "'Cos I'd hate for things to get difficult. You know, I like how cushy things are now."_

"_You irritate me, child." The boss snapped his fingers and swatted at the air, indicating the boy should leave. "Get out of my sight."_

_Witt picked up his backpack that he had discarded carelessly on the floor, ripping it into the air as he glared at the old man. "Gladly" Was all he said before he stormed off, with the swaggering walk that Ahsoka detested. _

_Even in front of the organisation, he acted like he owned the place._

"_Why we need tha' stone?" Another man came up and sat beside the boss, flinging his arm around his shoulders as if they were old friends._

"_I have a plan."_

"_Mate, I've stuck by ya' all these years, I left the order for ya' when ya' got booted aht. I deserve ya' trust, I earnt it."_

"_I know, old friend." The boss nodded slightly. "Don't think I've forgotten all you've done for me. You see, everything I'm doing is for us – we deserve our revenge – the Jedi did us wrong. I didn't deserve to just be thrown out on the streets like that and they sent you to agricorps long before they should've – they discriminated against you. What better way to get back at them then using their children to destroy their order? What better way to get back at Anakin Skywalker then using his child against him?"_

"_Aye-aye, mate. Ya' know, dose Jedi won't know what 'it 'em, eh?"_

"_No, they won't."_

_Ahsoka stood in shock for a few moments. The information she had just heard was ringing through her mind; repeating itself over and over, again and again. The boss and his friends had been in the order? And they'd been kicked out? Well, the boss was kicked out…the friend left voluntarily. And what was all this about being sent to agricorps too early? _

_She had to know more._

_She also had to confront Sharkey._

…_without her Master finding out._

* * *

Ahsoka's eyes flew open, having come hurtling out of the dream like one would fly through the air after a speeder crash. The teen put a hand to her head groggily; her entire world hazy as she tried to recall the dream – which was quickly starting to slip through her fingers, like sand.

Her mind seemed to throb as she put all her energy into recalling the precognitive dream – or maybe she was seeing something that was happening at that very second – she could remember something…

Sharkey.

Seraphium.

The organisation.

The boss.

Exiled.

Ahsoka quickly looked up and down the corridor, searching for any astonished stares or pointing fingers at what must've looked like a fit. She didn't need the attention right now.

Now, that was…unexpected. Ahsoka paused, all of her earlier fury and anger had dissipated somewhere between falling asleep and waking. The game had changed. She already knew the organisation were force-sensitive, but force-sensitive's that were once Jedi; exiled from the order. The odds were astronomical.

Only to her would this happen, though, she shouldn't have expected anything less, after all, today was a Centaxday; they had a history of going bad. She was kidnapped and tortured by Bane on a Centaxday, she was abducted by Trandoshans on a Centaxday and this whole deal had started on a Centaxday. Yes, she was being optimistic by thinking anything but trouble would come from today.

And that…vision. She'd never heard of that happen to anyone before in all her years – being overcome by the force and put into a vision. No. Never, not even in the history books she had read – the force was getting urgent.

Ahsoka's heart plummeted as she recalled the vision. The organisation had taken an eye to her Master; the one person she was trying to keep them away from. What if they had a role to play in his fall? She'd never considered that. She'd always assumed her situation and her Master's fall were too separate events but what if they weren't as separate as she thought; what if they were connected?

She thought back to those other awful prophetic dreams. The first time Ahsoka had meditated on her visions – attempting to clear her insight slightly – she had come to the conclusion that her Master was the eye of the storm. But now, as she looked at extraneous variables and the picture as a whole she realised that the situation was a lot more complicated than that.

Whoever was conspiring to take her Master – be it the organisation or someone else - was relying on more than just his short temper. No, that wasn't enough. Anakin _was_ a good man- sometimes a bit annoying but he was good. The perpetrators plan was so much deeper – much more intelligent and expertly crafted. It looked to destabilise her Master entirely, to exploits the cracks and weak points in the very foundations of his life.

Whoever was doing this had not come up with this scheme on a whim. No, this plan had been carefully sculptured and preened to perfection. Someone had been plotting this for a long time, perhaps from when her Master had been brought to the temple – as a little boy.

Ahsoka smirked despite the direness of things. She couldn't really imagine her Master as anything but the 6-foot-tall, galactic pain in the ass that he was. He was only 5 or so years older than her but imagining him as anything other than 21 was odd. Although, the mental image of a much smaller Anakin Skywalker running around – proclaiming his 'chosen one-ness' - with a lightsaber bigger than him brought her much more amusement than it should.

Ahsoka had to shake her head to rid herself of the image of the little Anakin, reminding herself that there were much more important things going on right now.

How had they managed to make her Master so dark? When he first took her as his Padawan he was so light – the epitome of goodness – sure, he wasn't perfect. He had a temper, he could go too far and he got carried away…but one couldn't akin him to anything that even represented darkness. But now?

Now he was so temperamental – so easy to anger – and it was more than just a bad temper. He could be foul to those who he disliked – and sometimes even to ones he liked – he had no patience anymore, not even for her; she had expired any reserves he had saved for her in the past few weeks.

She missed her Master. Her real Master, the one that was proud of her no matter what; the one who asked her how she was doing and actually wanted to hear, and cared about, the answer. He'd changed, she missed the old him. It was heartbreaking to watch how he was falling from grace – it hurt so much to see him let everything around him die in his desperation for…well, she didn't even know what he craved for so much that he could tango with the darkside. He had a lot of issues.

Padme was one of them. It was all too obvious that her Master was _very_ attached to her, they were married for crikes sake – they were too close – all one needed to do was exploit that relationship; use her and they get him.

Ahsoka paused in her mental tired. Ok…maybe she was a little jealous.

Not of the relationship, no way – that was gross – seriously. Ahsoka couldn't imagine how, in the seven hells of Corellia, anyone could ever want to be married to the immature brute that was Anakin Skywalker. Seriously, that wasn't getting a husband - that was getting a child.

No. She was jealous of the fact that she would always come second to Senator Amidala, of the fact that she couldn't hold a candle to the woman in her Master's eyes. She wished that he'd be a bit more enthusiastic about spending time with her…like he was whenever a mission had any inkling of Padme's presence. Maybe that was why she had been so short-tempered with the woman early.

It was very selfish of her, but she didn't want her Master to have a wife. It would mean that he would have less time for her – he _did_ have less time for her – whenever they were on Coruscant, it was like she didn't exist to him. He never wanted to do anything. He was always busy.

She also didn't like the marriage because it meant that – should the council find out – he would be exiled from the order and she would lose him, she didn't want that – sure it was selfish of her but he was _her_ Master. Senator Amidala should not be putting his life as a Jedi in jeopardy like that.

She growled once more when she realised that she had managed to divulge everything to the Senator – her entire knowledge of their relationship. Great. No doubt she would tell Master and they would try to interrogate her.

She looked up and down the corridor again, anxiously – worriedly. It was so silent and empty…but the emptiness of the vast corridor made the silence seem so loud. It attacked her from everywhere and threatened to destroy her. It was a terrifying silence; one that would usually have accompanied a death in the holo's she had seen.

A cold breeze played upon her cheeks; rattling the tall pillars as they too protested against the silence and stomped on the spot; like soldiers marching up through the temple, the almost perfectly synchronised 'stomp-stomp' of their boots echoed out through the walls and pillars that stood alongside the empty corridor

The sharp coolness from the wind – no doubt from a neglected window – left Ahsoka with an icy bite that lingering in her skin. It was almost as if it were giving her a taste of the icy climbs she had yet to tackle, of the cold that was yet to come.

It was an eerie cold; feelings of inadequacy and helpless followed that northern wind, whispering and jeering at her just like it had.

Then…

Ahsoka gasped slightly. She could feel it.

The force; it felt almost like it were crying – perhaps simply bemoaning was more fitting for the intangible entity – it sang it's sad song through the wind, a low saddened whistling that made Ahsoka wanted nothing more than to hide under a rock and never resurface. It was like a wounded animal that knew it wouldn't make it, or an abandoned child that had finally realised it was all alone. It was the song of hopelessness.

"This is _impossible_." She said to no-one. And everyone. To anyone who could hear – anyone who would stop and listen and care about her sorrow.

Ahsoka balled her palms up slightly; pressing her whitening knuckles into her side – her eyes squeezing shut of their own accord. A tickled moved slowly down her face, leaving a tingling sensation behind it. Ahsoka reached up to rub the tickle away. Strange, the tickle felt wet. Then another tickle came and she tapped that too – it also felt wet. She stopped. Her eyes opened.

The teenager brought her fingers in front of her face so she could see them. Two glistening spots of moisture lingered on the tip of two of her fingers – the so called tickles sat comfortably on her fingertips. Tears.

Two tears.

Ahsoka frowned. They were actual tears, actual tears of sadness. She had told herself she wouldn't cry – for she feared that she wouldn't stop – well, that could be added to the list of her failures.

She hadn't cried in what felt like forever, she had always felt she had to stay strong for her friends. She had assumed – after all this time of stoic boldness – that she couldn't cry. She had forgotten how to cry. Ahsoka Tano had forgotten how to cry – but now…she remembered.

And it was oddly satisfying. Having no-one around to see her cry.

And - in her sad, hopeless state – Ahsoka Tano had let her guard down. She had let someone see her cry. She hadn't sensed the figure stood in the dark corner – watching her with similarly sad eyes as the small green figure bemoaned all he had let come to pass.

* * *

**I've decided I'm going to update, _at least_, everyday Saturday. Then I feel like less of a douche for making you guys wait so damn long for the past few chapters. Plus, Saturdays are cool.**

**Please review my dudes!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Click click click

The noise echoed through an empty, lonely corridor of the vast temple. The sound seemed as loud as the universe itself as it slowly moved through the long hallway.

Click click click

It was rhythmic, almost. Slightly eerie but it still had a certain rhythm to it.

The figure that caused this sound shuffled down the corridors. It's small gimer stick clicking against the cold stone of the temple floors; following him with the shadows. He moved slowly but yet still seemed so graceful, moving alongside the cool breeze that swept through the temple. Moving with the force and breathing with the Universe.

The Jedi Grand Master seemed so calm, so collected and at peace.

But he wasn't.

On the outside he looked like the epitome of serenity but on the inside he was troubled, deeply troubled. He could sense the darkness that was weaving its way into the order, threatening to decompose everything they had worked so hard for. He knew there were cracks in the foundation of the order that, if the darkness wormed its way into them, would cause it to crumble.

Anakin Skywalker was one of those cracks.

It had been incredibly risky admitting the boy into the order. His future was clouded by the darkside; they were essentially blind from the minute he'd been brought before them.

Perhaps, they would be able to see more clearly if he had never been accepted.

Yoda stopped for a few seconds and looked around, his eyes lingering on the beautiful architecture: the sweeping arches and grandiose patterns engraved in the walls. Everything he knew would change soon – he could feel it – this whole place, his home, would fall and so would everyone in it.

Ahsoka Tano wasn't the only one that had been clued into the future.

The Order had their chance to change the future – Yoda himself had tried to save them from their fate – but they were so set on their way of living. They refused to change. And – since everything around them was changing – the order was being left behind. It wouldn't last.

And now…now it was much too late. The seeds had already been sown, he would watch his precious order fall and crumble at his feet and there would be little he could do to stop it.

He couldn't intervene – he knew that much – not yet at least. If he tried to change things know he could push the galaxy into a place they couldn't afford to go to, he could do much worse then what was originally fated to happen. It was a risky game; playing with fate. He would have his chance to battle the Sith, and if he failed he would be forced to wait, to wait until someone else – someone more appropriate for that mantle – was ready.

He didn't know exactly what would happen. The force was saving the minute details for Padawan Tano, he was only privy to the general overview, those little prophecies he gleaned from the oracle. He knew that Anakin Skywalker would be a critical person in the future.

But the question was: would he make them or break them?

Yoda got the feeling that, despite his attempts to manipulate things – to mould Anakin into a better Jedi – he had failed. Even the responsibility of having a Padawan hadn't matured him enough; he was still much too impulsive.

And his Padawan…she was forced to suffer.

Yoda let out a small sigh. The child was forced to see what would happen and know that there was little she could do to change anything, she was suffering in silence. But there was so much more – the issues with her Master were only the tip of the iceberg. He didn't know what the force had burdened her with but he knew it was more then she could handle; he knew that there was something that had begun to destroy everything that was Ahsoka Tano.

He had seen her in the library and his heart had ached. She was crying…_silently_. The Jedi Master liked to consider himself something of an expert on younglings, they were such interesting packages of spontaneity – Ahsoka Tano was no exception.

Children cry when injured or simply looking for attention – that was the rule of thumb – a child crying meant they wanted something. He had seen it all – even amongst Jedi youngling – tantrums and stomping of feet and screamed demands. He'd seen it all.

However, a child crying silently was different; so awfully different. A child that wept silently did not look for attention. They weren't injured. They weren't frustrated or angry or throwing a tantrum. No. They were crying out of the deepest sorrow. They cried simply because they couldn't stop. Ahsoka Tano had to deal with whatever secret she was keeping as well as her spontaneous Master. She could see what was going to happen, more than he could - and the child couldn't handle it.

But Yoda could take a step back and look at the situation – more than just Anakin Skywalker - he could see everything and pull in anything extra variables that others would have missed.

The Padawan had shifted something. She had moved events around, the darkness had been converging so strongly but she was dispersing it – particularly around Skywalker – he didn't know what that meant or what it would bring. All he knew that – if there was any hope left for the order – then it was definitely in the form of Ahsoka Tano. The force had revealed that he couldn't intervene in the events that were to come but it seemed that the mysterious entity was giving Ahsoka the chance.

But why? The Master knew the force had chosen Ahsoka for a reason, and he had his theories – one of which stuck out in the forefront of his mind; for Ahsoka Tano was almost as confusing as her Master. If one looked at her through the force only, they would decree that she shouldn't be here – they would say her force signature indicated she was one with the force. But, yet…she lived.

Though, she had died…once.

Was it possible to be one with the force whilst living? Or maybe Ahsoka Tano couldn't really be considered living anymore, what if she was somewhere in between? After all, being resurrected from death has never happened before…and possibly won't ever again. Needless to say, she was an anomaly. Maybe, there was a greater consequence to her resurrection then they had thought. In Yoda's mind, that would explain how she was seeing so much, so easily.

But he had little time to ponder on this development and the odd Padawan; he was to depart to Kashyyyk immediately to aid the Wookies. He had delayed his trip for long enough, there was nothing else he could do here. He had to hope the force would be with them all. He had to hope that Ahsoka was able to save her Master from a fate worse than death, for they wouldn't get another shot at bringing balance to the force for a long time.

But that left one question: what if she failed?

* * *

Ahsoka stood staring out of the main entrance of the temple. How easy would it be to go now? To attack the organisation that had taken everything from her. She could just walk out right now. No-one would notice for ages, they wouldn't think much of it – she was a Padawan and therefore allowed to venture out of the temple; with her Master's permission, of course. But by the time anyone managed to double check with Master Skywalker, she'd be long gone.

Ahsoka didn't miss how she had taken to referring to her Master as 'Master Skywalker' now, all familiarity was quickly dimming. It was like she was a brand new Padawan again, one that didn't know her Master and was particularly awkward around him.

Her eyes flickered back to the pedestrians walking along the streets in the distance, little specs of vibrant movement. Could she just go join them? As easy as that? Go do a little recon and get back at that group? They'd taken everything from her; her life, her innocence, her friends; it was only fair that she be the one to take them down

But now the game plan had changed - now she had realised there was so little she knew about them – she had to be smart and cunning, just like they were. She would be as manipulative as them, she had to be or she would lose this game.

Her thoughts unintentionally flickered to her Master.

She wished he wasn't hurting all the time. She could feel it; she'd felt it from the day she had met him. He hurt _so_ much, all the time. It hurt her to know how much he suffered; how the great burden he'd been given weighed down so painfully on him, it tried to drag him down alongside his shadows; the dark shadows of his past. A past he refused to divulge to his young apprentice.

Ahsoka had figured it must be bad. Anakin wasn't the most forthcoming of people but this…if she even made a hint of his childhood he would tense immediately. His eyes would go hard, his jaw would tense, his fists would clench and he would just stop…and stare into space.

She wondered where he went when he stopped and stared. He certainly wasn't with her anymore when he froze.

That was part of the reason that she was trying so hard to protect him; she didn't want him to hurt anymore than he had to. She knew he had told her that it wasn't her job to take care of him, she knew he tired of her attempts to keep him safely in the dark but she couldn't help it…no matter how twisted and warped he became, he would always remain Skyguy in her mind…he was always her hero, her inspiration, her guardian. He was everything she wanted to be as a Jedi.

She wouldn't let this group destroy that…not when he was so damaged already. It was a reasonable trade in her opinion.

Ahsoka took her first few steps towards true freedom – true independence – it was surprisingly easier than she thought it would be. She had thought her conscience would protest; that her stomach would churn as she turned her back on everything she'd ever known. She had thought it would be more difficult. She had wondered if she should take a run at it – do it quickly like taking off a plaster – but all that worry was superfluous. She had no need to plan ahead for this moment because it was ridiculously easy.

It was easy to turn her back on the Jedi, simply because they had done it to her first. They had left her in the dark and the cold and the rain, and slowly but surely her flame had died out. She was nothing anymore.

One foot after another; it was the simplest thing ever. And she was free.

"And where do you think you're going?"

So close. She had been so close to freedom. Ahsoka looked longingly at the streets – seeing the civilians walking around carelessly, nothing and everything on their minds. It was like they mocked her botched attempt of escape. She had been so close.

"Just testing out the stairs, Master." Ahsoka made an effort of walking down a few steps before walking back up and nodding appraisingly. If she were going to be caught, she would get a laugh out of it. "Yeah…they work fine."

"You're not funny."

Ahsoka turned to meet his gaze. His eyes betrayed nothing; she didn't know if he had spoken with Padme yet, and asking him would only bring about suspicion should he have not gotten around to speaking with her.

"I've been looking for you all morning." He spoke as he walked over to her.

"Why?" Ahsoka asked rudely, not quite realising how sharp her tone was. Surely her Master would be trying his best to avoid her, not willingly seeking her out.

"Because we are going to have a little chat."

Alarm bells were ringing in her head. Damn it, he must've found Padme – now he was here to threaten her into silence. "About what, may I ask?"

"We're gonna fix this." He said adamantly, as forcefully as he would command soldiers. "We're going to fix this rift; we're going sit down and you _are_ going to tell me everything because I am fed up of you dancing around the truth, okay? I'm fed up of feeling like I'm losing you, I won't have it Ahsoka. I won't."

"What's brought this on?" Ahsoka's tone may have been bored but she was anything but, she was curious.

"The fact that earlier, when Master Plo asked me how you were I couldn't answer." Anakin's tone was less demanding now; it was soft, like he was trying to coax a puppy out of a small hiding place. "Because I honestly don't know, and not just because you won't talk to me, I've neglected you…and I'm…I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"Is it?"

"Yeah."

"Then why does it feel like I'm losing you?" Anakin asked simply. "Why do I feel like you're not gonna be there when I turn around?" Anakin gestured to the stairs. "And this only proves it, where the hell were you going? Were you ru-"

"I wasn't running away." Ahsoka ground out. In all technicalities, Ahsoka was doing the exact opposite – she was stopping running away.

"Then where?"

"I just wanted to get out for a while."

"Lies, lies, lies. I'm going to break you of this habit." Anakin mumbled darkly, more to himself than Ahsoka. "I hate lies; it's a betrayal of someone's trust. I hate lies."

"Relax Master, you can't get rid of me that easy." _Just throw a joke in and lighten the air and everything would be fine_ - Ahsoka wished that could be true. "I have yet to give you that first grey hair, remember?"

Anakin looked a little less suspicious but the air of confusion still lingered. "Alright. But we're going to go back to our quarters now. That's an order. We're going to fix this – I'm fed up of your tantrums and sneaking around and I'm going to get the truth out of you. We're going to fix this. I will not let you go running off into some danger I don't know about because I was too kriffing stupid to do anything about it"

An eye marking rose of its own accord; Master Skywalker tried to avoid swearing in front of her of late – something about Masters complaining to him about her own foul mouth. "We're fine, we're always fine Skyguy."

"Judging by the state of our bond, we're far from fine, Snips." Anakin's tone was more bitter than joking and Ahsoka winced slightly as she thought of the bloody rag that they were trying to pass off as a bond. It was pitiful. A thin sliver of silk that would snap should any weight be placed on it.

"Come on, there's a cup of cafe in our quarters with your name on it." Anakin smiled half-heartedly, Anakin put a hand on her back and ushered her back into the temple. Ahsoka wasn't fooled though; the hand was to make sure she didn't run away as opposed to affection.

Ahsoka looked back, independence was right there, next to freedom – waving at her as she retreated with her Master. Now, turning her back on that was harder than walking away from the Jedi. This is what she got for that initial moment of hesitation.

* * *

**Saturday update; as promised. Because, as PenandInkPrincess pointed out - they are so much better than fridays; Rebecca Black is just a moron. Please review my peepz**


	26. Chapter 26

**Sorry about this chapter, I think it's a little rubbish but I've rewritten it so many times and can't come up with a better way for this to go down.**

* * *

Chapter 26

Sitting with a steaming cup of cafe in your hands whilst trying to reconnect with the person that has been like a brother – maybe even parent - to you for the past few years was surprisingly harder than Ahsoka thought it would be. It was like they both wanted to speak, wanted to start the conversation, but the words would be snatched from their tongues at the last second.

Anakin looked at his cup of cafe before looking back at Ahsoka; who looked just as closed off as usual; this might be harder than he had initially thought. He looked back to his cafe. Yeah, he'd need something stronger.

Seconds later, he was rummaging rather carelessly through the cupboards, not at all flinching when the loud crash of pottery echoed about; courtesy of the plates he had just knocked off of the shelf. Ahsoka levelled him with a dark glare from her seat on the couch; those were the _only_ plates they had left. Some people had to live here!

Anakin ignored the glare he could feel burning into him and kept up pouring through the apartments cupboards. He made a triumphant noise when he found what he was looking for in the fridge, pulling out the bottle and smiling at it with an expression that could be likened to pure bliss. He required something stronger than coffee.

"Alcohol, Master?" Ahsoka cocked an eye marking delicately.

"Don't judge me." Anakin told her, uncorking the drink and taking a generous swig.

"Rough day?" She asked sympathetically.

"Oh yeah." He put the bottle down and eyed her. "But, I've got a feeling you know all about rough days. Eh?"

"Maybe."

"What does maybe mean?"

Ahsoka shrugged an action that made Anakin want to pitch himself off a skyscraper. She didn't trust him. Ahsoka - his Snips - detested even talking to him.

"Why won't you talk to me?" Anakin had said it to himself but Ahsoka had heard.

"Why do you want to hear it?" She asked snappily, throwing her arms into the air in a show of uber exasperation.

Anakin looked at her, not a harsh look but it wasn't gentle, the closest term one could apply to it would be 'pensive', perhaps, or maybe a contemplative expression one would wear when trying to figure out a particularly difficult Maths question. "Why do you think I don't want to hear it?"

"Because I think that you should save yourself the effort, I mean you don't even know-. You…you, I don't deserve kindness. At all. You'd agree if you knew everything; if you knew me as well as I do…you'd agree" Ahsoka hopped off the barstool and made her way to her favourite plump armchair – it was in the state of eternal dibs – her cafe forgotten on the counter. From the clink of the bottle of alcohol and the shuffling of Anakin's stool, she knew he had followed her.

Ahsoka sat and watched as Anakin walked around in front of her, he said nothing – his silence was all the confirmation she needed for his belief in her worthlessness. She should've expected this; rejection.

"It's a good job I know you then. And I know that you're not a cruel person, Ahsoka…so stop making like you've done something oh so traumatic." Anakin replied snarkily. "The worst thing you've ever done is skipped out on homework."

Ahsoka bristled before taking a few seconds to release her anger into the force – like the mature adult she was - though she was mature enough to snap back at him first, with just as much malice. "Shows how much you know about me then."

"You think I don't know you?" Anakin questioned forcefully, not letting her get away that easy. "Pray tell, what big horror have you caused now? Eh? Tell me then, since you're obvious dying to get it off your chest…why don't I know you?"

"Leave me alone." Ahsoka growled.

"No can do."

"Funny, that seems to be your life story." It was bold – and extremely rude – she knew that, but right now she figured that deflecting his attention from her issues by giving him the full brunt of her attitude was the best thing to do.

"Hilarious, Ahsoka. Really." Anakin laughed without humour. "You know what I find funny? Locking you in your room for the rest of the week; I think that would be a blast."

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes at him. So now he thought he could just put her in time out? Like some sort of youngling.

_Yeah, sure Master…that is so gonna make me open up. _

She was an adult and it was about time he recognised that. She was almost 17, practically middle aged here!

Then Anakin surprised her and knelt down in front of her seat, taking an arm in each hand and forcing her to sit directly in front of him. "Look at me" The command was stern yet gentle, and Ahsoka found herself compelled to oblige, her eyes slowly moved toward him and eventually met his.

"I am so sorry Ahsoka." Anakin made sure she was looking at him before continuing. "I never meant to hurt you, Snips. I never meant to make you feel like you can't come to me, I swear"

Now, this, Ahsoka wasn't expecting. She'd seen her Master be angry before – she'd seen him get downright scary – she'd seen entire armies run from him and their enemies beg for his mercy. She'd watched him topple Empires and would-be-Gods and dictators. She'd seen him battle fire and tame it as his own, and control the force with an envy-inspiring ease. She'd seen him be strong and firm, with a fire that burned in his soul and kept him strong.

So, this…this was completely new. And slightly weird…considering how he'd been mad at her seconds ago, but she had gotten used to his bi-polar mood swings ages ago. She had suggested he get some help for his awful temperament – she was sure they could prescribe him something in the sickbay but he'd always get touchy and shout he wasn't bipolar and then they'd argue and-Ahsoka paused…she was sure she had a point in there somewhere.

But the point still stood that never before had she associated caring with him…_Anakin Skywalker_. She wouldn't believe it in she wasn't experiencing this weird caring mood he was in herself – in fact, she still didn't believe it despite being present.

No, it was safe to say that Anakin Skywalker wasn't particularly good with touchy-feely emotions. He'd generally shunned them.

"Master-"

"Let me finish." Anakin told her in a patient tone; much gentler than he had used with her in a long time; that should've told her that tonight was going to downhill very quick - it always did whenever he was kind. Judging by her streak of awful luck of late, tonight was going to be a lot worse than a _heart to heart_ with Skyguy. "I have a lot to make up for, but I intend to do right by you, Ahsoka."

"Master, you don't have to do this." Ahsoka said quickly. "I know I've been a pain; I really do. You have nothing to apologise for, it's all been me. I'm the problem."

Anakin smiled sadly before shaking his head slightly. "No, Snips. And if I've made you feel like you were a problem then it looks like I've got even more to make up for." Anakin shook his curly hair out of his face for a second. "I know that I'm not the best Master. Trust me, Snips, I am well aware of my foul temper."

Ahsoka resisted the urge to chime '_bi-polar_' in a singsong voice. But, seeing as though she was already on thin ice, she bit back her snippy comment and opted for something that would minimize the chance of her getting locked in her room…or the coat closet.

"We both have bad tempers." Came Ahsoka's mumbled reply when she trusted herself not to put her foot in her mouth…again. "We let it escalate too much."

"We did." Anakin found himself agreeing easily but he felt she was less to blame than himself, she had an excuse – she was just a kid – however, he was an adult and was supposed to be more mature than this. He was supposed to set an example, not hold a grudge like a 3 year old deprived of sweets.

"I realised that I've been a pain…" Ahsoka continued. "…I know it, I do. I've…I…I'm not exactly a model Jedi. I know you'd be perfectly within your rights to refuse to teach me – I sure wouldn't wanna teach me after this. It's not fair to you." Ahsoka bowed her head slightly. "You don't have to care, you know? I won't mind I promise"

That was another lie.

"Hey." Anakin had his hand under her chin again, lifting it so he could see into her eyes. "Look at me." He ordered softly, only continuing when he had her attention, speaking to her in a softer tone that he had ever used on her before. "I want you to listen carefully, Ahsoka Tano, I do care about you and don't you ever believe I don't, not for a second, Snips."

"But-"

"No buts." Anakin's tone took a slight growl to it, showing his irritation that the girl wouldn't believe him. "No matter what, you'll _always_ have a special place in my heart, even when you're being a nuisance, and sneaking out and causing trouble wherever you go, _even when we fight_. Nothing you can do will scare me off."

"You sure?" Ahsoka asked knowing that statement was most definitely conditional. He would always care…_as long as she_ _didn't_ join a Mafia-like organisation that could easily kill him and Padme at any moment and are looking to bring the Republic down on it's knees…

…oh….wait. That last bit sounded familiar.

"Positive." He confirmed surely.

"I didn't know that you cared." Anakin raised his eyebrows in astonishment at Ahsoka's statement.

"What? Jeez, Snips, did you not figure that out when I constantly fought so damn hard to keep you safe and breathing? Did it not cross your mind? At all? Ever?" Ahsoka shook her head in reply causing Anakin to let out an exasperated sigh. "Gimme a break."

"What about all the bad reports, and the crap you're getting from the council about me?" Ahsoka asked guiltily.

Anakin smiled, trying to make light of the serious situation. He couldn't handle serious, he just couldn't…it was too uncomfortable. It was not him…at all. He would much rather be in a full scale, all-out prank war with his Padawan right now than attempting to resolve her self-esteem, trust and 'Master' issues "It's part of being a Padawan. Being late for classes, failing exams, being a general pain. It's a rite of passage. Can't blame you for being a kid, can I?"

"But that's the problem…" Ahsoka said, her tone tinged with annoyance. "I'm not a youngling anymore…I'm a Commander. I have to think about more than myself…and I haven't been doing that very much."

That was a slight lie. She had been thinking about more than herself, what with the organisation and all, she been thinking about her Master too; thinking about keeping him safe. But she was still being selfish.

"Snips-"

Ahsoka cut through him. "And you've been having a difficult time lately…" Ahsoka caught herself, realising her Master didn't know that she knew of his relationship with the Senator, it seemed Padme hadn't gotten to him yet. "…what with the council and everything."

Anakin eyed her for a few seconds, noticing the suspiciously long gap, and he felt a prodding from the force; something pushing him to not overlook that little statement. He could feel an icy prickle of foreboding growing in the pits of his stomach, making him feel slightly nauseous. What if she had figured it out? No. No. They'd been careful; she couldn't know.

But what if she did?

"Yeah…the council." He watched her closely and he picked up a slight flinch. He could feel his stomach churn more as he became more suspicious. "Ahsoka, you would tell me if something were bothering you, right? Whether it be me, or something I've done, or a secret I've kept."

"Are you hinting at something, _Master_?" The tone in which she asked that took Anakin aback slightly. It looked like she was more than a little defensive with this particular topic. Alarm bells rang in his head as his suspicion grew.

"Maybe." He remarked. "You tell me."

Ahsoka surveyed him for a few seconds. "I don't know. Nothing comes to mind." Ahsoka made an effort of looking at the ceiling and pretending to ponder his words before shaking her head. "Nothing off the top of my head."

They made eye-contact. Ahsoka kept her face as neutral as she could, she tried not to let anything slip in her expression – she had schooled her face to show nothing. She didn't want him to find out like this.

However, her neutral face – a bit too neutral to be believable – was not fooling Anakin. He knew a fake expression when he saw one; he knew how it worked – how you would try keeping as straight a face as possible to try and fool everyone into believing that nothing was wrong. He knew every trick in the book…and that was why he didn't believe Ahsoka.

He didn't know how this little demonspawn of a child thought she'd be able to pull off manipulating and hiding things from him, and he did not appreciate the attempts at all. He would work her out; the force was on his side…he was the Chosen One. A little girl with an ego had nothing on him; she could hide nothing from him…no…never.

And…he knew Ahsoka Tano, much more than she believed he did. _I've been the one raising her for the last few years_, he found himself indignantly thinking, and obviously he'd learnt quite a lot about the girl: her pet habits, obsessive-compulsive behaviours, the fact he was damn sure she was suffering from some undiagnosed attention deficit disorder.

_How dare she think he doesn't know her!_

He knew her. And that fact was why he was going to figure her out.

He searched deeper; looking straight into her sea-blue eyes. There was something he was missing, something he couldn't put his finger on. She was keeping something from him, he could feel it – in not just the force – but his gut. Then he saw it.

In her eyes; deep down – almost completely hidden from view, just a small flicker of emotion rose to the surface. It was like fear, but so much more powerful, it was terror – panic, and beneath that he could see more – digging deeper he found more – he could see so much hurt, so much pain. She was hurting so badly. Something – something that had terrified his Padawan so very much – was causing her great pain.

"Snips, Snips, Snips." He mumbled lowly, more to himself than the girl. "What's going on? Eh? What's happened to you? Who's hurt ya'?"

"No-"

"No, no, no. I see it, I can tell. You're scared." Anakin put a hand on her cheek gently. "But what's got you so afraid. You don't scare easy, not by Ventress or Grievous or a big droid army so what's so menacing that it could frighten you."

Ahsoka bit her lip, this was the reason why she had tried to keep him out of the loop completely. He could read her too well, damnit. "The nightmares are taking their toll."

"But there's more, beneath the surface." He lifted her chin slightly so he could see her eyes better. "I see it. Why are you so scared?"

"Master, please…" Ahsoka shook her head as much as she could whilst in Anakin's grasp. "Don't. You don't wanna look into this, really!"

Anakin leant forwards, his brow furrowing as he regarded the girl, and he stopped when their noses were almost touching. "And what if I do?" He dared her to tell him to stay back. He dared her. He wouldn't stand for it, he wouldn't let her tell him what he could and couldn't do. No. As of now, he was most certainly getting involved in whatever was troubling her. If she had a problem then he would make it his problem too. Nobody got to hurt his Padawan, no – not Ahsoka; not his girl.

"Please, Skyguy…please…just don't get involved. I can handle things."

Anakin looked her up and down. "No…you can't; that much is obvious. Look at you Ahsoka, you are most definitely not handling things. You look sick."

"It's not that bad." She spoke up defensively.

"Really?" Anakin queried incredulously. "You're skin has a green undertone, the bags under your eyes have bags, you lost a dramatic amount of weight. If we look at more than physical factors, then let's put the fact that your studies are suffering, you're failing, skipping classes, being disrespectful to your tutors. Something is very wrong with you Ahsoka Tano, and I _will_ find out what."

"Why do you assume there's something _wrong_ with me?" Ahsoka snapped. "Am I not perfect enough?"

"And now you're getting snappy and defensive, most likely from your lack of sleep." Anakin decreed in a tone that was so blasé that he could've been remarking on the latest speeder model. "If you want to convince me that you're fine then you have to do a better job than that, Snips."

A knock on the door interrupted what could've broken out into yet another fight. Anakin pointed his finger at the girl in warning, with the strict instruction to not move whilst he went to answer it, oblivious to the tongue being stuck out behind him. Let no-one say that Ahsoka Tano is not mature.

Her careless mocking of her Master quickly disappeared when she caught sight of who was at the door. Her eyes widened for a few seconds before survival instincts kicked in and she instantly stood and her eyes darted around, looking for an exit.

"Sit down." Anakin hadn't even turned around, Ahsoka cursed Anakin's senses for the millionth time.

The window! No, wait. That didn't open more than a few inches now – after the break in her Master had a lock put on it so they wouldn't open wide enough for a person to enter.

_Gee…thanks for that Master._

"Now, Ahsoka!" This time he turned around long enough to point to the chair before returning to speak with the Senator.

She glared at the chair as if it were a method of execution, folding her arms over her chest and taking a defensive stance as she glowered at it. The cursed chair, stupid chair, rubbish chair, pathetic chair, evil chair.

"Stop insulting the chair." Anakin again turned to look at her, his brow scrunched. "Seriously? 'Pathetic chair'? What is wrong is wrong with you? It can't hear you. Sit."

To show her well placed ire, Ahsoka threw herself heavily into the plush chair, hating the way it seemed to dip even further than usual under her weight – it was mocking her. The chair was mocking her.

It was!

When they walked in together, Ahsoka nearly fainted, she lean back into the chair and tried to take calming breaths – Master couldn't know. She couldn't tell him. It would ruin all she'd planned.

"W-what is she doing here?"

"Don't be rude." Anakin scolded without missing a beat, not noticing how uncomfortable his Padawan was. "The Senator has something important to tell me, she wants you present too." Anakin looked suspicious at his own words. What could she possibly have to tell both of them?

"Padme, please." Ahsoka whispered feebly. "I'm sorry – I-I was, it was a mistake. Don't. Please."

Padme shook her head with a sad face. "I'm sorry but I won't do that – not after what I heard, I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you."

"You and your big heart; how honourable." Ahsoka growled angrily, sinking back into her chair in defeat.

Anakin looked between the pair with an expression that could only be described as complete and utter confusion; he had not followed one word of that. "Context, please." The way he phrased it made it seem more like an order than a request.

"Well, Ahsoka and I were talking earlier and she divulged some interesting things to me." Padme ignored how Ahsoka sat with a horrified expression and was shaking her head at her, a silent plea. "It seems your Padawan has some things she'd like to share." She looked directly at Ahsoka, a stern expression that didn't show how much the Padawan's puppy-dog expression was getting to her; it was taking her all she had to not run to her and promise to keep everything under wraps "Ahsoka you can either tell him or I can, if he hears it from you then you can provide the extra details I am not privy to; you'll be able to explain yourself. If I explain it then he will only hear what I've heard, and I doubt he'll be happy."

Now, Ahsoka Tano was anything but a coward – she was occasionally proud, ignorant and egotistical – but no-one could ever honestly say they could tack 'cowardly' to her personality. She could admit that she could avoid things and sometimes it took her quite a bit of time to open her eyes, but when she did she wasn't half-bad. She was a fighter and not coward, and she would get through this, telling them would be the hardest part but then it was easier from thereon in. She wasn't a coward.

She was also very smart and sometimes her pride could get in the way of her logical thinking, but at this moment in time she knew when she was beat, she knew there was no way she was getting out of this situation. And she knew that attempting to 'go down with a fight' would get her nowhere but in trouble…well…more trouble, she was already in trouble. Oh yeah, she could safely assume there would be a fair bit of trouble when he found out. And she was pretty sure she'd be kissing goodbye to daylight too – she was sure she'd see little more than her room until she became a Knight.

But, she also knew that if Anakin didn't hear this from her, he would be all the more furious – he'd throw her out an airlock. An airlock!

If he heard it second hand from Padme then she could look forward to being locked in the coat closet or something of the likes – or an airlock!

Ahsoka looked at her Master; she couldn't lie to him anymore; it was destroying both of them. She didn't want to be the reason why they fell apart, she couldn't be…she cared too much. She knew that she'd pushed him astronomically far in the past few weeks and she was trying to fix things; she felt they had made a bit of progress – a talk without any death glares and harsh threats was progress in her books.

It seemed like she had only one option. Well, two if you included trying to make a break for it but seeing as though her Master was faster, she decided that would be a waste of her time and his limited patience.

So…option 1.

"Where should I start?" Ahsoka felt her bout of courage from earlier spontaneously disappear and she audibly gulped.

"At the beginning, start where all this started and include everything, please." Padme told her as gently as she could.

"I don't…I-"

"Ahsoka, now is not the time to withhold information." Came Padme's quick admonishment. "You can start with the blackmail, threats and abuse you're being put through."

"What?" Anakin, who had been quiet during the confrontation until this time, exploded.

"Hush, now." Padme barely even looked at him as she came to kneel in front of the Togruta – which was a surprisingly difficult feat for a pregnant woman - and took Ahsoka twitching, fumbling hands into her own. "Sweetheart, you can't keep this a secret anymore. Not now. We won't let you. I can stare here all week if it comes to that, hey, I can stay until I go into labour. No-one is leaving until we get the truth."

"You'll hate me." Ahsoka's whisper was difficult to catch.

Padme put a hand on Ahsoka's cheek gently and said just as quietly. "That's a silly fear, we could never hate you. So come on, let's see some of that courage you're famous for."

Ahsoka appeared to collect her thoughts for a few seconds before she gulped again and looked away from Anakin and Padme.

"I can leave if you just want to speak to Anakin." Padme told the ashamed teen.

"No!" Ahsoka blushed slightly at her outburst. "Please, stay…I want you here; to hear it, you're involved too – you deserve to know."

Anakin stood back from the pair, feeling that it would be best for Padme to take the reins here – she always knew what to say, she was so much better with Ahsoka than he was. He did hope Ahsoka realised how lucky she was to have her – Anakin sure realised _he_ was lucky to have Padme.

"In your own time, then." An undignified noise erupted from Padme's throat as she stood slowly, her hand pressed against her back. Ahsoka instantly shuffled up in the seat and let the older woman sit beside her, managing to squeeze into the plush one-seater despite her current size. From there, she wrapped a comforting arm around the girl and waited for her to begin.

"What would you say if I told you I was in trouble?" Ahsoka directed that to her Master.

Anakin deliberated for a few seconds, watching her carefully before saying slowly. "I'd ask what kind of trouble?"

"What if I said I've run into a group and…they're blackmailing me." Ahsoka mumbled very quietly that Anakin almost missed it.

"Explain." Was all he said but, with the accompanying narrowed eyes and tense jaw, Ahsoka felt like she was 5 years old and had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"It started with the guy I chased after, in the undercity. I…he told me that I'd be useful and…I…I thought nothing of it at the time. I had bigger concerns like…fighting him off." Ahsoka took a breath. "Then there was the guy that broke into the temple, he was trying to take me back to their group but he failed. Thankyou Skyguy."

Anakin nodded in reply, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms as he waited – surprisingly patiently – for his Padawan to continue.

"It wasn't too long after that when I received a package, it had no sender address and I was curious." Seeing her Master's disapproving expression, Ahsoka added. "It had already been scanned by the post regulators, and the scans revealed nothing, for all intents and purposes it was just a harmless parcel."

"I'm guessing you and all your great teenage wisdom were wrong there." Came Anakin's dark tone.

"Anakin." Padme scolded, glaring at her husband who had managed to effectively shut the girl up. Padme rubbed her arm up and down the girl's shoulder. "Go on, Ahsoka. Ignore him."

"Well, it was them again." Ahsoka's voice was a mere whisper. "He told me that he needed my help and I-I-well- I did try to tell him no. I promise. But, he…" Ahsoka closed her eyes for a few seconds before spitting it all out as quick as she could. "He said he'd kill you – both of you – if I didn't. And, I didn't believe him but he had people…surveying your house – he showed me live footage of you guys and…I…they all broke into the temple so easily – twice! - I mean, is it so far out of the realm of possibilities to believe they could kill you guys too?"

"So, let me guess. Ahsoka Tano, in all of her aged knowledge decided to go to these people who she'd already decreed as dangerous. You just went gallivanting after them. After they attacked the temple, attacked you and tried to kidnap you?" Anakin pushed himself out of his slumped position against the wall, taking several steps forwards. "Did it not once cross your reckless teenage mind that they could've easily killed you?"

"I didn't know what else to do!" Ahsoka said hurriedly.

"Tell me!" Anakin shouted in reply. "Maybe, or is too much to ask?"

"Ani." Padme glared darkly at her husband for a few seconds before turning to Ahsoka. "Is that how you found out about us? Through the footage they showed you?"

"She knows?" Anakin asked quickly, his eyes widening. "Since when? How?"

"Yeah, they showed me footage of you too together at your home." Ahsoka mumbled, avoiding the 'since when' question. She wanted Padme and Anakin to believe this hadn't been going on for as long as it had – maybe she could convince them it had only been going on for a week or so. "Padme, I'm so sorry for everything earlier – I didn't mean to-"

Padme interrupted her. "That is all in the past, dear. I've already forgiven you. Let's focus on this. What happened after?"

Ahsoka opened her mouth to continue her story, but a loud and familiar beeping tone changed all that. Ahsoka froze and a quite squeak came from her mouth. The young Togruta had never felt so fearful, she could liken it to prey being surrounded by a horde of hungry Gundarks.

No, no, no, no, no. Not now. Oh force, please not now.

* * *

**I don't think I like how this chapter has come out – it was probably the hardest one to write after focusing on conflict for half the story. But I hope you guys like it and hey…since it's so crappy you can have it today and the usual on Saturday.**


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Not now. Oh force, not now. They couldn't; Anakin would find the datapad, and that's the last thing they need. She wanted to keep him as far away from the organisation as possible – if they saw him on the screen they'd panic and they could kill him. She squeezed her eyes shut - trying to calm herself - and hoping that if they ignored the tone for long enough it would just go away.

"What's that?" Her Master stood up, looking around the room.

"It's nothing." Ahsoka too stood up, grabbing her Master's arm and attempting to divert his attention. "Probably just a message on my datapad."

"That's not a message tone." Anakin stood his head and pulled her arm out of Ahsoka's grip. He looked at her with narrowed eyes. "What are you hiding? Wait…is this the group? Are they contacting you?"

Ahsoka cursed her Master's intuitiveness as he quickly walked into her bedroom. She was about to pull him back but Padme grabbed her arm and shook her head, silently telling her to pick her battles carefully; she wouldn't win this one. If Anakin wanted to find the datapad, then not even the force could stop him.

"No…it's not." Ahsoka stood in the doorway to her bedroom, arguing with herself in her head over whether or not she should clobber him around the head. It was an idea. She could always hide the body.

Anakin glared at her, his bright blue eyes seemed to darken and the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees; a foreboding chill seemed to settle in the room. With one last stern glance, Anakin span around and began routing around the room – carelessly yanking open the drawers in her dressers.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds to Ahsoka's ire – using the force was cheating – he then dropped down onto the floor and sidled – not crawled, Anakin never crawled – over to her bed. He tugged the bedcovers up forcefully, and threw the overhang back onto the bed, before pushing his hand into the dark space. He routed around under there for a few tense seconds, where all of time seemed to slow down painfully for Ahsoka, and she could feel her heart pumping erratically and her stomach churn nauseously. This was it.

When he pulled his hand back out, Ahsoka nearly fainted. He'd found the datapad. She had known he would find it, he wouldn't have given up just because she said so; she knew he'd look for it. But part of her – a naïve, hopeful childish part – had hoped that perhaps he wouldn't have found it under there. It was optimistic but she had clung to that hope.

"What is this?" Anakin stood and turned it around in his hands.

'_Subject DNA analysis…scanning…_' The 'pad spoke in its robotic, monotonous tone. _'Unauthorised personnel…deactivating'_

Ahsoka winced visibly. Well, nothing said 'completely normal' like a datapad that did a DNA scan before activating. She didn't think she'd be able to talk her way out of this. Nope, no way – there was no chance in hell that she would get out of this one. He'd know it was from Vipera and he'd use his fancy slicing skills to get into it, then he'd track them down and get himself killed, and there would be nothing she could do to stop him.

"Explain." Anakin ordered.

"That's a datapad." Ahsoka tried.

"Yes, I see that." Anakin shook it a little. "Perhaps, I should be more specific? This isn't your datapad, and it certainly isn't a Jedi one…the design is different. Where did you get it? And why does it have DNA recognition systems? Is this from them? Is this what they've been using to contact you?"

Ahsoka nodded – not trusting herself to speak. She bit her lip, idly wondering if she could pitch herself out a window before he really lost his temper; it wouldn't be long now – Ahsoka could see he was hanging onto his patience by the skin of his teeth.

The window in the council room was ideal. She could jump out and there'd be no hope for survival…offt…she was getting tingles down her spine. That sounded perfect.

Anakin made to throw the datapad across the room but Padme grabbed his arm, shaking her head. "If you destroy it, we lose all leads."

"I'm not having them contacting her." Anakin snarled – temporarily forgetting who he was talking to.

"Yes, well if we destroy it they we just find another way to get her." Padme said in a clipped tone that instantly shamed Anakin. "I hear that quite a few Padawans have been kidnapped lately – what if your actions put Ahsoka on the list."

Anakin dropped his arm immediately, putting the datapad down on Ahsoka's desk – showing his ire by dropping it from a few centimetres above the surface.

"We can use it." Padme decreed. "The next time they contact her, we can set a trap."

"It won't work." Ahsoka chimed in quickly. "They're smart."

"We're smarter."

Ahsoka nearly laughed. "And all the evidence points to them being force-sensitive" Ahsoka surprised herself at the blasé manner in which she revealed that bit of information; her actual feelings towards the matter were not quite so nonchalant.

Anakin took a few steps towards the girl, a threatening look on his face, before he stopped – appearing to be wrestling for control of his actions – and then span away and began pacing, his arms folded over his chest as if he feared that he would lash out at someone if they were left to hang loose.

"Anymore little bits of information you'd like to reveal?" He growled.

Ahsoka bit her lips. _Yes, actually there was a bit more_. Anakin noticed her contemplative look and stopped pacing, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

"They know you – I think." Ahsoka stopped to collect her thoughts. "I collapsed in the hallway – not long ago and I had a vision of him – the boss – talking to another Padawan; Witt Sharkey."

"It's not just you?" Anakin asked.

"No, there's a few of us but back to topic, when Sharkey left, the boss was talking about getting back at the Jedi," Ahsoka looked directly at the wall behind Anakin. "He claimed he was exiled."

Silence

"From the order?" Anakin worked up the gall to ask the most obvious question there was.

"No, from the-" Ahsoka bit her tongue at her Master's angry glare – daring her to finish that thought - before bowing her head like a petulant child with a quick, "Yes, Master", being spat out.

"Of all the suicidal foolish things you could think of…" Anakin began pacing again, running a hand through his hair roughly and then began to list off all of Ahsoka's transgressions. "Lying to me, deceiving me, aiding and abetting a criminal group, more lying to me, manipulating me, putting your life in danger. Have I missed anything off?"

_Well, actually there was the whole theft of official government property, the assault on the security guards, and then seducing that nice man. _

Obviously, Ahsoka - being the good responsible person she was – answered that question with a bold. "I think you got everything, Master."

Anakin put a hand on either side of the doorframe she was hiding in before leaning in her face to growl. "Are you completely hell-bent on self-destruction?"

"No, just serious injury and/or hospitalisation." Ahsoka knew that wasn't that right answer, and she hadn't completely thought about, it the second it left her lips. Apparently, her brain's autopilot was preset to asshole.

Yellow eyes met her own before a hand swung out, catching her cheek and sending her toppling over – straight to the welcoming floor. The pain came a few seconds later, a stinging sensation that spread out from her cheek like a forest fire. _Luckily, it had been his human hand,_ Ahsoka found herself bitterly thinking.

"Ahsoka!" Padme was beside her in second, helping her stand but Ahsoka hadn't quite processed what was happening. "How could you? She's a child, she doesn't know any better." She heard Padme scold Anakin but she didn't quite register it; her mind was stuck on one fact.

_He had hit her._

Her Master had actually _hit_ her.

Shame; it hit her full blast. And present its own mark visibly on her; it was red and five-fingered, standing own on her orange cheek like ink on paper.

"Ahsoka, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…I just…lost control" His eyes were blue again when she next met them but she wouldn't stick around for them to become yellow again, no way. For the first time in her life, she had been properly afraid of him – an actual petrifying fear that left her in a still stupor.

He made to help Padme get her to her feet but Ahsoka scrambled back, tripping over her feet in her rush to escape and almost happily met the floor again, her arms bruising as they slammed against the cold durasteel.

"Snips, I-"

"No." Ahsoka clumsily clambered to her feet, her hand coming to her stinging cheek. "_Don't touch me_." She hissed with as much venom as she could.

"Snips, please." Anakin took another step forwards – his eyes wide with the shock horror of what he had just done. "I'm so sorry, please, Snips. Please. I lost control. I'd never hurt you…you know that. I didn't mean to. Come on, Snips. I'll never touch you again I promise, I'll never hurt you – I won't. Forgive me, little one."

Ahsoka turned and ran, ignoring the calls for her to come back, the hurried apologies and pitiful begs. No, they fell on deaf ears. She knew they were all lies anyway – her Master had proved it today. To him, she was nothing but a pain, a nuisance - like a bug that hovered around your head and Anakin had just successfully swatted her away.

She shouldn't have trusted him; she knew she shouldn't have trusted him from the start. It was inevitable really. Eventually, everyone you trust will disappoint you – especially him – every single time. Ahsoka supposed she was the stupid one, though; she came running back every single time…but not this time. Never again, she wouldn't listen to fake apologies and him promises to do better – she'd heard them all before, she could write you a manuscript if you wanted. He said the same thing. Every. Time.

* * *

Anakin found himself in the Chancellor's office not long after everything had gone so wrong. He'd spent the last hour or so detailing all Ahsoka had told him to his close friend; seeking the advice the man always had to give. He was his most trusted friend and he had looked to him for counsel from being a small boy.

He was furious with Ahsoka – for obvious reasons – she had lied to him, manipulated everyone around her without thought of consequence, she had allowed this gang to exploit her and now she had managed to back herself into a corner, one that he didn't know how to get her out of. It wasn't a simple as running in, lightsaber ablaze. One mistake could condemn them all. And Ahsoka was right at the heart of the action, he knew that if anything went wrong, she would be the one to pay for it. He couldn't afford to lose someone else he was close to – never again – he wouldn't allow her to put him through that much pain.

He was also furious with himself for how he handled the situation. He looked down at his hand in disgust, this was the hand he had hit the girl with, and he looked at it as if it were a loathed enemy. But Anakin knew that as much as he'd like to claim his hand had a mind of its own, it was his own anger that was to blame; he was too volatile. He'd lost control for a split second and the next thing he knew, his Padawan was on the floor.

It was one of the things he regretted most – more than his slaughter of the sand people. He had sworn to protect her and keep her safe from harm, but, it seemed that he was the one she needed protecting from. How could he have done that to her?

What was he becoming?

A couple of years ago he would've punched someone if they ever insinuated that he would ever lay a finger on Ahsoka. Of course, a couple of years ago he wasn't as volatile – he wasn't as harsh.

It scared him how easily his anger had taken over. It. Scared. Him. It had taken a second to slip; a mere second. If he did this now, what's to say he wouldn't do it again. His mind flashed back to the look of betrayal and pure fear on Ahsoka's face as she practically tripped over herself to get away from him. He remembered the tears that had collected in her eyes and how she kept trying to blink them away. He saw the way her jaw dropped and her lips parted, and how she mouthed 'no' as her brain caught up with what had just happened.

Ahsoka had been scared of him…and he'd been scared of him too.

Anakin put his head in his hand and let out a shuddering breath, pushing the palms of his hands into his eyes as they stung from tears that were waiting to spill.

What had he done?

He wanted to vomit, to scream and throw things about. He wanted to fall in front of his Padawan's feet and grovel to her, asking her – no, _begging_ her – to exact her vengeance; punch him, kick him – heck, he'd be happy if she just focused on biting him – anything that would level the score a little. But, he knew that it would take his Padawan forever to exact enough punishment on him for it to compare to what he did.

She was just a child. Worse, she was _his_ child – which made what he did even more bile inducing. What sort of sick sleemo ever backhanded their own child? It made him feel nauseous.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, my boy." The Chancellor levelled his grandfatherly smile on Anakin sympathetically. "None of us are perfect; we all have our limits and it looks like little Ahsoka pushed you far past yours."

"I shouldn't have hit her." Came his guilt-ridden reply. "She didn't trust me before and she definitely won't now. I'm a monster."

"You'll find that children are much more forgiving then we give them credit for, they always come back." He told the young man in front of him. "Such interesting little creatures."

"It doesn't make what I did right." Anakin snapped at the Chancellor before his eyes widened and he bit back his anger. It wouldn't do for him to lash out at the Chancellor as well, that would land him in some serious poodoo.

"You could do a lot worse by her." The Chancellor pushed away Anakin's guilt like a toy. "Tell me more about the situation she's gotten herself into. You said she's letting herself be blackmailed by this group? And she keeps going back to them? Why?

"You know, it's so typical Ahsoka." Anakin growled angrily, running his robotic arm through his hair. "She knows something is wrong with these people, the situation doesn't make sense, so she goes and pokes it with a stick."

"Your ire is well placed, I'd be angry too were I in your place. Though, between you and me Anakin, that's why I chose to not have children." He smirked at his friend. "She's lucky to have someone as trustworthy as you watching out for her."

"Yeah, but she makes it so hard….and…this group – I'd do anything to get rid of them." Anakin slammed his fist down on the desk. "To make them suffer like they've made Ahsoka, people like that deserve to die."

Anakin missed the glint that flashed in the Chancellor's eyes at his last sentiment; he also missed the way his smile turned dark and manipulative, and the way his hands appeared to twitch in anticipation. Anakin would miss a lot in this confrontation; his mind was too narrowly focused on his own personal attachments to fully comprehend the situation.

"You remember my tale of Darth Plagueis the Wise, do you not?" The Chancellor sat back slightly, looking completely in control of the situation.

Anakin's eager, "Yes", only fuelled the Chancellor's dark glee.

"Then you, being the smart man you are, probably realised that if such a power can be learnt, then surely there if much more to be gained from the darker side of the force, more than just that power. Think about how easy it would be to save your Padawan, to bring this group to justice, and to save your wife."

Anakin's head shot up and he paled. "How do you know?"

"My boy, I consider myself a great friend of yours. When people are as good friends as we, they can read each other like a book. I could tell, I know you well Anakin – I noticed the glances and the secret meetings but I respect your privacy and I never intervened or mentioned anything, until now." The Chancellor appeared to just wave off Anakin's worries. "And I know you'd go to any lengths to save them, so let me help you."

"You're a Sith." Anakin was only slightly surprised by this. Somehow, he had always known – deep down, but that brought about a great deal of questions he didn't know how to answer. The chancellor had only ever been kind to him, he'd never given him reason to mistrust or fear him – even know he knew he was a Sith – so was he really all that bad?

Anakin felt more conflicted than ever before. His own thoughts raged a fierce internal war as his mind pondered over the new development. The Chancellor was a Sith and that meant, by default, he was his enemy but…the Chancellor had been among them all this time; he'd done nothing. He'd been told half his life that the Sith needed to be destroyed – no-one ever really gave him a reason why, other than they were the enemies of the Jedi.

Were the Jedi wrong about them?

Did they hold inaccurate views, views that were only reinforced by characters like Ventress and Dooku. Perhaps, there was more to the Sith than they realised – maybe Sith like Ventress or Dooku weren't the stereotype. Well, what did that mean for them? Did that mean the Chancellor was good? If so, then everything he'd been brought up with – every mantra and principle he'd been raised to believe in – were wrong; Very wrong.

How could one judge someone simply based upon their allegiance? Looking at it from his perspective, the Jedi could be just as evil, simply through their belief that there are morally above everyone else – when one believes in that the ordinary people begin to look expendable. That wasn't right. And, looking at characters like Master Windu, reinforced Anakin's growing concern that the Jedi weren't as pure and perfect as they wanted the galaxy to believe.

"You're a Sith." Anakin repeated that, as if saying it again would give him the answers he needed.

"I am merely a servant of the Force. I do what I have to do, I don't dabble in the rigid beliefs of the Jedi. I believe that the force is unbiased and it's power has neither a dark or light side – it is all neutral."

"No." Anakin shook his head. "There is a light side, and a dark side. They're separate things."

"I'd thought you were able to see the force properly." The Chancellor tutted sadly, as if he were scolding his favourite nephew. "What if you were to use your mind tricks – that's a 'light side' ability – to persuade me to shoot myself? Then that ability isn't all that light."

Anakin took longer than he should've to reply, and it was in a monotone that sounded like he was repeating something he didn't believe in. "It wouldn't work, survival instincts are too strong."

"Is that what the Jedi told you?" The Chancellor made a strange noise – one could say it was a hum of triumph as he put his pieces into place. "They would. They prefer to be unquestioned, do they not? And that is because they do realise that the force and all of its abilities are neutral, they just don't want you to have the power entitled to you from birth; the power you need to save your family."

"I shouldn't" Anakin told himself. "It's wrong – the Sith are…wrong. I can save them as a Jedi."

"Of course, my boy. I respect your opinion, I wouldn't dream of forcing you to submit to something that you don't believe in; I am no Jedi." The Chancellor paused for a few seconds, eying Anakin with a contemplative face that had a small hint of maliciousness in it. "But what if you're _wrong_?"

* * *

**Sorry if you didn't like that chapter but I needed something that would get Ahsoka to remove herself from the situation. Plus, it would push Anakin into an even deeper spiral of self-hatred, just enough for this to fall in with Revenge of the Sith events. And, he strangled Padme…this isn't too out of the realms of possibilities.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

It felt like the world was ending; it may as well be. Everything was crumbling down like decrepit ruins. Her life was crashing around her feet and with every pillar of her life that crumbled – with every little crack and chip in the foundations of her life - Ahsoka sunk further into the self-depreciating haze she'd immersed herself in.

Her cheek still stung. The pain had dimmed and was a mere tingling sting – a simple discomfort – but the shame and emotional hurt still rang true, and even more emotions were running through her: anger, humiliation, horror; but hurt and betrayal were the most prominent.

She'd told him everything; it had been the hardest thing she'd ever had to do. And, in return, he had lashed out at her, like she was nothing more than a petty insect. How could he blame her for being silent after that? Even before, she'd found it hard to talk to him…especially regarding issues that bothered her.

It was so hard to talk to him. Did he not know that? How could she speak of her weaknesses – of her troubles – to the 'oh-so-great' Anakin Skywalker? He did nothing but look down on the 'lesser beings' that struggled; she must look like a peasant to him! How could she possibly confide in him? He was distant from such problems, and above all this. She looked like a mere mortal in his godly shadow.

Ahsoka didn't know what to do now. She'd attempted to confide in her Master but…that didn't go as planned. Without his support she'd never be able to pull anything off, and her mind was too much of a mess to think up a proper plan.

Ahsoka snorted at the situation she had found herself in. She rose up and puffed her chest out in a cocky manner whilst frowning to herself; more that disgusted by her current thought pattern.

Why did she need him? Ahsoka found herself indignantly thinking. She was a strong, capable woman - why did she need Master to save her? Why couldn't she save herself? The way she had gone running to Master and whining was pitiful and unnecessary – she could defeat anyone. She was strong and powerful, and she needed no-one.

Anger boiled up in her; steaming like a kettle. He just wanted her to feel weak, he just wanted her to rely on him for everything – he wanted her to depend on him – she'd known it all along. He always sought to crush her independence!

She'd show him – she'd show everyone – just exactly what Ahsoka Tano could do. She'd either destroy these people or would die in the attempt.

And, if she was to die, then let there be fire – she'd take as many of those people down as she could.

* * *

She stopped at a door – it was seemingly unimportant, simply a shared dorm for those Padawans that chose not to room with their Masters; not everyone wanted to be stuck in a stuffy apartment with a Jedi that spouted regulation like a fountain. Ahsoka idly wondered about getting herself transferred into one of these rooms; better than sharing with Anakin. Things were never going to be the same with them, and Ahsoka didn't know if she'd be able to stand being in the same room as him, with his accusatory glare.

She shook her head, now was not the time to be contemplating her 'Master' issues; as her failing relationship with him seemed to be branded of as late. _Mind on the here and now, Ahsoka_. Her fist pummelled on the door in front of her

"Sharkey." She shouted. "Open the door." She waited for several more seconds before resuming her attempts to slap the door down. "Open. The. Door. Idiot."

It was safe to assume, Ahsoka had a rough relationship with Sharkey. He was a cocky boy with an overinflated sense of self worth and self-superiority. He waddled around, actually proclaiming how good he was. It took her all she had not to punch him; not to break his cocky nose.

She had tried once – when she was 13 - she'd only caught his jaw though. _Luckily_ for her, Master Windu was close by to catch the action…her auditory senses still rang; that man could shout. Lucky lucky lucky.

She'd avoided the boy like the plague since then.

"Whaddya want?" The door slid open and said irritating boy was on the other side, leaning against the doorframe.

"I need to talk to you" Ahsoka looked around before leaning forwards slightly to half-whisper, half-growl. "In private."

"No thanks. The last time we talked was quite enough, thanks." Witt took a step back and made to press the button to shut the door but Ahsoka stormed straight in, ignoring his annoyed protest.

Taking a look around, she decreed the room was empty apart from themselves. So, in all her composure and maturity, Ahsoka slammed her hand into the wall panel, shutting the door.

"What are you doing?" He asked angrily, looming over the smaller teen.

"I told you, I need to talk with you." Ahsoka replied in a suspiciously calm tone. "About Vipera."

Witt paled and took several steps away from her, shaking his head in denial. How could she know? Kriffing hell, this was the last thing he needed, the little goody two shoes grassing him up to her Master, who would tell the council.

"Now you shut up?" She smiled in a taunting manner. "You're only tough when you've got your mates to back you up? No wonder you're working with them – I bet you're doing it for laughs."

Sharkey scowled at her jest, and levelled her with a dirty glare. "So what? You gonna snitch on me? You're your Master's girl through and through, gonna go running to him?" Witt put on a fake pout in jest.

"Shut up, moron." Ahsoka snapped. "I just need information, for me…not my Master."

"What does a goody goody like you want to know about a group like them?" Witt leant casually against the wall, raising his eyebrows.

Ahsoka was too busy being worried to silently complain about him…again. "What do they want with Seraphium, what do they want with that rock?"

That got his attention. He pushed himself off the wall in a mere second and quickly stalked over to her, his eyes wide and astonished. "How do you know that?"

"You're not the only one they're using."

Witt's brow creased and he threw an arm back behind him in an aggravated manner. "And you were slandering me? You hypocrite."

"Time and place, Sharkey. Time and place." Ahsoka ground out before taking a deep shaky breath; letting her building anger out into the force. "They cannot get that stone."

"Don't you think I know that?" Witt turned around and pointed to a heap of scrap that could've once been a datapad, it sparked slightly as in testament to that. "I threw it when they called me…I panicked." He put his hands on his head and ran his fingers through his messy black hair. "It's a suicide mission – we have no chance. We'll be caught and exiled."

"Is that your only concern? Being caught? It's bigger than th…people could die." Ahsoka snapped at him, shaking her head in utter horrified disbelief. "You're so stuck up your own arse that you can't see the bigger picture. They could kill people with that stone; they could kill a lot of people. It creates an electrical field that can rip apart organic matter, if they found a way to control that thing then…we have no hope. They would _decimate_ us. There wouldn't be any of us left."

"Hang on a second…" Sharkey walked back over to the distressed Togruta. "We haven't even found out how to control this thing, if we haven't figured it out then I doubt they'll do it."

Ahsoka couldn't help but agree with that. They – the Republic – had so many resources and people at their disposal. If anyone could figure out how to use this compound then it would be them. After all, what did the organisation have in their favour?

Ahsoka froze.

She took a deep breath.

And then another.

A bare whisper came from her mouth as she sounded her hypothesis, mostly to herself. "But…they had me take a man to them. I knew he was some technological guy but…I had to. He-he…what if he's someone who can help them control the thing? A researcher or something like that – what if, maybe, the Republic scientists had a breakthrough in figuring out how to manipulate it. And, what if he was one of the leading experts?"

If Witt was shocked or horrified by this announcement from the panicking Togruta, he didn't show it. He just watched her as she hyperventilated and grew paler by the second, her hand flying out to the cabinet beside her; as if that were all that was keeping her on her feet.

"What was his name?" Sharkey asked

"Lorenz. Lorenz. I…don't know his full name."

Witt let the newest revelation sink in before he nodded to himself and bit his lip a little, then he shook his head in a twitch like manner, as if he were attempting to shake the thoughts out of his head.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. They haven't got the rock yet. They can't do anything." He attempted to calm the horrified Togruta down.

Ahsoka couldn't believe it. Well, she could but…she…all this time she had been kept in the dark about the organisations habits and ulterior motives; they had told her the bare minimum. So, now she was beginning to piece things together it was a rush of fresh air – it was almost too much – it was like being like out of a dark cage that you'd been confined in for months, directly into the bright, harsh sunlight; you weren't adjusted to it yet.

Ahsoka frowned. "They tried to contact me earlier. I think they want me to get the stone."

"Me too, hence the crushed datapad." He jokingly motioned to the strange mechanical mess on the floor.

"Well…" Ahsoka laughed nervously, in the hopes she could relieve some of the tension. "…it's a good job we both ignored it."

Witt nodded, a smile spreading over his face slowly. "Yeah, who else are they gonna use?"

_Kriff_. Ahsoka's smile faltered, her brain sped at a million miles an hour and her mind struggled to keep up with its abruptly changing thought pattern. But it was all solely based on one thought – on one person. _Briseis_. Ahsoka could feel the blood rushing from around her body, back to her heart at the speed of light and she almost felt her heart stop as it dawned on her.

* * *

Anakin stood from his knelt position in front of the Chancellor, keeping his head bowed – though out of respect or shame, one couldn't be sure. He had sold his soul to the devil, and he'd gone against everything he'd been brought up to believe in.

_But, it was worth it, right?_ He kept telling himself, it was his duty to protect Padme and his child and Ahsoka. All he needed to do was to get the Chancellor – _Master_, he corrected himself – to help him save them, then he could turn back to the Jedi – they'd forgive him, they were so naïve and trusting – he could rejoin them easily enough and then everything would be fine again. He just needed to gain access to this power first, then he'd go back – he would.

It'll all work out fine. It _had_ to.

"I fear that this organisation have seeded themselves deep within the order." The Chancellor spoke a darker tone than Anakin had ever heard him use. "We do not know who to trust, they could _all_ be working with them."

"I agree, Master." Anakin drawled in a dull tone, not knowing what else to do other than just mindlessly agree.

"Unless they can prove otherwise, they are all traitors and working with these vile gangsters." The Chancellor appeared to ponder for a few seconds before deciding. "But taking them all into custody would be impossible; we would only lose many good people. We must destroy them – make a statement to the galaxy. We must purge the galaxy of their deception. I have continuity plans put in place should a situation like this ever arise; I loathe that I must use them."

Were Anakin a bit more astute he would realise that this was all a bit too well planned, it was all coming together a bit too easily and conveniently. These plans the Chancellor had should ring alarm bells in his head, the fact that he had so easily decided the Jedi were _all_ working with the gangsters and against the Republic should've told him there was something wrong. But, Anakin Skywalker simply nodded mindlessly – not really hearing what the Chancellor had to say, this meaningless chatter was of no concern to him; he had bigger problems.

"They are all traitors." The Chancellor hissed in an almost gleeful tone. "We must end them. Now. _You_ must end them, Lord Vader. It is your destiny. You will go and you will take the temple, send a message out to the Galaxy. Betrayal will not be tolerated in my Republic."

"What of those who had no part? What of the younglings?"

"They have all played their part, there is no such thing as an innocent Jedi." He snarled but, seeing Anakin's alarmed face, he said in a more sympathetic tone. "If you want any chance of saving your Padawan from these traitors, you must destroy every single one of them; even the ones who played a small part – even the younglings. You must destroy them from their foundations or she won't survive, they will kill her."

Anakin still looked unsure, his mind screamed at him to be logical. What could the Sith provide that the Jedi couldn't – other than pain, hate and suffering – how could they possibly help him and his family? However, Anakin's heart took the other side of the argument; telling him that it would all be worth it if he managed to save his Padawan and his wife. They'd saved his life just by coming into it. They needed him to save them!

"Think Anakin, how much you will regret letting this opportunity slip if anything were to happen to them." The Chancellor beseeched the young man who was frozen from his internal war; his heart vs. his head. "Think of the guilt you will shoulder and the pain you will live with, I only wish to save you from that, my boy. I fear their time is running out so we must act quickly Anakin. These vile monsters will kill your Padawan, and your wife will die in childbirth unless we act quickly."

Anakin shut his eyes for a few seconds. He had already sworn allegiance to this cause, he couldn't back out now; not when he was so close to that power - the power that would save them – and he knew that the Chancellor was right. They would die and he would live on, knowing that he could've saved them. He was the only one he trusted to take care of them – he certainly didn't trust them with their own lives – he knew he was the only one capable of protecting them.

"What are your orders, my Master?" That was it. It was all over.

It felt like the entire Universe shivered and trembled as Anakin Skywalker made his choice, and the bright light of hope and warmth that glowed in the force – the glow of the light side of the force – collapsed in upon itself and died, and every Jedi and every force sensitive – young and old – felt as their last hope was snuffed out. And, throughout the Universe infants and children's cried, younglings and Padawan shivered and hid from their fear, and Knights and Masters prepared themselves…they prepared to die, as they all knew that their time had come.

What's worse was that they all knew – the young and old alike – that the most tragic part of their tale, of their ending, was that they had brought this upon themselves; through their unwillingness to change. The Jedi Order would die – not because of the Sith – but because they were stuck in their traditions and rituals…and they could've stopped it and saved themselves.

"You will bring down the Order, Lord Vader." The Sith Lord couldn't suppress his malicious delight. "And you will show no mercy. End them all."

"What of my Ma-former Master, and my Padawan?"

"Obi-Wan Kenobi is a member of the Jedi council, and is almost certainly involved in the plot to take over with this group." The Chancellor looked directly at Anakin. "The punishment for treason is death."

Anakin frowned but he nodded. His Master might not be involved, and if Obi-Wan denounced the Jedi, Anakin would be able to save him. But, there was still one question left unanswered. "And Ahsoka?"

"The child's activity with Vipera will be overlooked - as my personal favour to you, my boy - as long as she condemns the Order and joins us. She is the _only_ exception to the purge." The Chancellor put on an expression of sadness. "But this is the only chance I can give her, there will be calls amongst the public for her head, should they find a treasonous Jedi survived. If she goes against us, I don't think I'll be able to deny their cries for her execution. Do you understand me, Lord Vader?" The Chancellor's voice was cold and threatening now.

Yes, Anakin understood completely. The Chancellor was giving him a heads up; he was to keep a handle on Ahsoka – keep a leash on her so to speak – or else she would be killed. The Chancellor wouldn't give her a chance, not after this. He would lose her if he couldn't control her; it was as simple as that. It was his duty - as her Master - to protect her from all threats, including herself. If she wasn't going to lie down and obey the new regime, then he would make her. He wouldn't let her stubborn attitude and authority issues put her at risk, he wouldn't allow it.

"Go, Lord Vader. Destroy them all."

* * *

**Hope you liked. Please review dudes.**


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Ahsoka's heart raced as she and Witt practically threw themselves down the miles and miles of endless stairs that led down and away from the temple. Kriff. She should've realised this earlier; Briseis should've been the first person she visited; the girl was unpredictable and strange, and that should've been enough of reason to be concerned about her – to want to keep a closer eye on her. Force, she was thick sometimes – how could she have forgotten about her?

The pair had already searched everywhere for her: the library, the canteen, the meditation rooms, even her own room; but she was nowhere. After an hour of fruitless search they had been forced to come to the realisation that she wasn't in the temple anymore and that led them to one conclusion: she'd responded to the call.

Ahsoka cursed again as she nearly tripped over herself in her haste to get down the stairs. This was all her fault – she should've kept an eye on her – she shouldn't have left her. And know she could be anywhere, doing anything because of her.

_Could things get any worse?_

Apparently so…

Both of the Padawans froze as the icy tsunami of emptiness washed over them – leaving a painful sting in their spines. Ahsoka could put it akin to when your only source of light and warmth, in an otherwise freezing hellhole – like Hoth – was just extinguished, leaving you alone with the deathly elements.

She could liken it to someone turning off the light, when you were in a place so terrifying and horrible.

She could liken it to her Master – the Galaxy's only hope for this war – falling into the horrible depths of the dark side and leaving them with nothing and no-one to save them. Wait a minute…the first bit sounded familiar.

A strangled squeak erupted from her throat as she felt her, once kind and playful, mentor fall further than he ever had before; succumbing to the treacherous pull of the Sith, down in the deep black water. And Ahsoka could feel the dark watery seas of the darkside drowning the little bits of light that were still left in him. Soon, there would be no evidence – nothing to give away – that this thing was once Anakin Skywalker, the good in him was dying…and in was killing her with it.

"What was that?" Witt asked as he stared blankly into the distance, his eyes wide with pain and his brow furrowed. Of course, he couldn't pinpoint where this awful disturbance was coming from, he didn't have the bond with Anakin that she had, and had always treasured…until now. "It feels like somebody has just…dropped me in icy water."

"That's pretty much what has happened." Came Ahsoka's whispered reply. "My Master…he's…I..gone…Sith…echuta…not him, please not him. Not after everything I've gone through...no." Ahsoka was lost for words; she couldn't quite believe it herself. A few months ago, if someone came up to her and told her that Anakin Skywalker would fall to the darkness then she would've punched them in the face and not regretted it. How could the goofy, overbearing idiot that was Anakin Skywalker ever be evil? Sure he had a mean streak – everyone knew that – but he was essentially a good man. How had this happened?

Her legs buckled underneath her as the waves of the darkside washed over her – forcing their way into her still weakened mind - through her bond with her Master. He was calling for her; she could feel it. The call rang through her head like a siren; loud, obnoxious and almost painful; though it grew more painful as he got closer and his call louder. She kept trying to shut herself off from him – to close her end of the bond – but he was too powerful, he just kept opening it, and the effort of closing and having it forced open again was tiring her.

"Leave me alone." Ahsoka shouted, aiming the command at her Master. "Stop it! You're hurting me. Master, please."

She knew he wouldn't stop, not until she answered him, but she dare not out of pure fear of losing herself in the darkness that swamped his end of their connection. She didn't know how well she'd be able to fight of the darkness if she allowed him to open his connection with her fully; it would engulf and drown her in its murky depths.

But…it burned so bad. Her head burned so bad. He was trying to force his way in, and he wouldn't stop, and it hurt. And the pain grew and grew as his attempt to force his way in grew stronger and more powerful.

"Master, please." Ahsoka was aware of nothing but the way he forcefully tried to rip down her mental defences, and she hastily tried to rebuild them but he was too quick and too strong, and he was getting in. "It hurts, it hurts so much…please…stop."

Witt crouched next to the girl who was laid in the foetal position on the floor, with her arms wrapped around her head and her eyes scrunched shut in pain. He didn't know what to do. The boy bit her lip before he shook her a little; his brow furrowing as she didn't even notice his tight grip on her arm. "Tano, what's wrong?"

There was no response to his worried query. Ahsoka was lost within her own mind as she attempted to fight off the invasion – to no avail – and her Master seemed to be oblivious to the pain he was putting her through, he had no idea how his attack was decimating his Padawan's fragile mind.

Anakin was too lost within his own darkness to realise how much his attempts to force himself into her mind was torturing his little Padawan.

Witt put his hands on Ahsoka's temples and attempted to help her push out her invading mentor, but he recoiled as if struck when Anakin lashed out at his mentality and sent him flying out of Ahsoka's mind.

_So much for that plan_.

He put a shaky hand to his own head as it throbbed slightly from the violent way he was thrown out by Anakin; that was worrying. He didn't really know Anakin Skywalker – only what he'd heard in passing – but he could tell he wasn't the type to strike out at someone, not without good reason. So, when the Knight lashed out at him, he knew something was very wrong.

And the darkness…he shivered a little; the darkness that emancipated from the man's signature was terrifying – it was constricting and it had almost throttled him.

He looked to Ahsoka worriedly. What if Anakin really hurt her? Witt didn't want her dead or permanently damaged! He needed her, or else he'd end up being killed by those banthas in the organisation.

Witt became even more frantic when a trickle of blood streamed down from Ahsoka's nose - dripping rhythmically onto the duracrete steps beneath her, when the little trickle became heavier and erupted into a river of blood he knew he needed to do something.

But what? He was a Padawan, and if he thought he had any chance of going back in there and forcing Anakin Skywalker back then he had best take himself to the medbay now, to get a scan done on his brain in an attempt to locate the damage causing these delusions. But, he couldn't sit by and watch her in so much pain. Sure, he didn't particularly like her but that didn't mean he wanted her to die from blood loss or something.

Ahsoka's eyes widened as images flashed through her mind; the temple burning, clone troopers stomping up the stairs in unison, her Master ruthlessly killing younglings. Her hands dug deeply – though she didn't notice – into her headtails, her fingernails scratching futilely as if she could use her nails to purge her mind of those awful images.

"They're coming." Ahsoka spoke with wide eyes and a glassy look in the blue orbs. "I can feel it. They're coming."

"Who's coming?" Witt was shaking her roughly in attempts to grab her attention.

Ahsoka whimpered as another attack on her mind rocked her, making her whole body spasm and jolt painfully. "Master…he's gonna kill me."

Witt made a scoff chortling sound and stood up, scowling at Ahsoka. "For goodness sake, you had me panicking there. I thought it was actually something important as opposed to whatever issues you two have."

"No. No." Ahsoka spoke quietly. "No, no, no. He will. He has clones. He's gonna k-kill everyone. Death. D-death. Death. I see it all i-in my head"

Witt crouched next to Ahsoka again, this time putting a gentler hand on her shoulder. He watched as she squeezed her eyes shut from the attack her Master relentlessly kept up.

"When?" He asked the twitching girl on the floor.

He grew frantic when he received no response and he shook her a little, his eyes glowing with fear. "When? Ahsoka, when?"

Her eyes flew open and she looked directly at him, though it seemed more like she was staring straight through him, and what was with that look in her eyes; a sort of hateful spark. It took him a few seconds to realise that Ahsoka's force signature had changed completely – it felt like her light had been shoved underneath blankets of darkness and hidden from view. But, what that meant, he did not know.

"When?" He asked her forcefully again, shaking her a little more this time. "When are they coming?"

He looked behind him as if he expected an entire legion to be behind him. When he looked back he jumped; Ahsoka's eyes were yellow. He shook her more, as if hoping he could shake her out of whatever Sith trance had taken her into its watery depths, but she only smiled darkly at him, her predatory teeth gleaming. Weren't they supposed to be poisonous or was that a myth? He couldn't remember "When?" He asked again.

Ahsoka's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist – tight and painful. He let out a hiss of pain as she stared up at him unseeingly, her blank eyes staring straight through him. "Now."

The next thing he became painfully aware of was the synchronised 'stomp-stomp' of feet, echoing loudly off the stone steps that led up to the temple. The young boy slowly twisted his head around and, like something out of a horror holo; Anakin Skywalker was ascending the steps, a murderous glare on his face as he led hundreds of clones into the temple.

"Follow me…" A hand shot out and gripped Witt's shoulder. "…if you want to live, that is."

The Padawan looked around at the figure, he eyes hard and suspicious; this wouldn't be the first time that the dodgy stranger in the hooded cloak was _not_ a nice person.

They were short; that was the first thing to come to mind – not that much over 5 foot – and very gangly, their limbs seemed to hang off of them and, even though they were wearing a billowing cloak, he could tell they were essentially skin and bones. The cloak covered the person's androgynous figure but, judging by their voice, they were female – fairly young if he were to hazard a guess but older than him.

"Who are you?" Witt was horrifically alert to the approaching Sith and accompanying troopers, within seconds they would be in shooting range.

"I'm here to help; that's all I can say. And, if you don't come with me…he will kill you, and probably her too." That wasn't quite as informative an answer as Witt would've liked. Seeing his unwavering mistrust, the hooded person continued. "Look, you're most definitely gonna die here – how much worse could it get by following me?"

The little voice of reason in Witt's head reminded him that when people asked 'how worse it could get', the force took it as a challenge, and not a rhetorical question.

But, Witt couldn't help but agree with her statement. He looked down at Ahsoka – who had stopped thrashing around about the same time as her Master showed up – she was splayed out on the floor with her arms and legs at awkward angles, her breathing was slightly laboured and her eyes had long since closed. She was okay – he hoped – just knocked out.

The teenager knelt down and lifted the Togruta into his arms quickly – only a slight grunt escaping his mouth in protest – she was light but her limbs were in uncomfortable position and hung limply, if it were not for the rise and fall of her chest he would think her dead.

However, despite his calm demeanour, Witt knew that something was terribly wrong with his fellow Padawan – he couldn't help the feeling of unease that crept up on him.

Her Master had gone too far – and it was killing her. The worst part was that Anakin didn't realise the damage he was inflicting upon his student, so he didn't know to stop – or else there wouldn't be any Ahsoka left to save.

**Yes, I know; I am the worst person on the planet. My friend has cancer and I had writers block and it's been a sucky few months – no excuse I know, I'm awful. But, it's finished all my exams and my studies are over so I have more time to write – whether I'll utilise it or not is another matter altogether. I'm gonna take my time on the next load of chapters because it's where it gets complicated and things start being explained, and you start getting answers, and I want to make sure I explain it properly without sounding patronising and spoon feeding every detail.**

**Thankyou for all being patient with me, I can't promise a quick update but I can promise I won't give up!**


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Witt followed the figure with barely concealed unease. This was too convenient; her just showing up at exactly the right time to help them get away – there was something wrong, mostly with her. He could feel it; the way she walked, the way she talked, the way she breathed - it was the way the force swelled around her, it was unnatural. The ripples she gave off were disturbing, they felt warped and _wrong_; _she_ waswrong_._

Witt's eyes locked onto the figure suspiciously and he instantly had the urge to look away, something was so odd about her – it felt weird just looking at her – it was like she shouldn't be here, some sort of anomaly with the force that should not be alive…but was.

Like that boy a couple of years back. He felt funny, like her, and it turned out that – according to the grapevine – the Masters had all agreed that he was one of those rare occurrences where the boy shouldn't have survived past his early childhood - or something like that – marked for dead they had said. They mumbled about how he'd cheated death. Somehow he'd managed to live past his expiry date but…he felt wrong, like he shouldn't be there.

Didn't last long though, he died a few months after the investigation into his oddness…fell off a ladder. He was a time bomb though; everyone knew he'd kark it prematurely…they had bets on it.

Yeah, he was willing to bet on this one stuffing it too.

And where was she taking them? Sure, following her seemed like a great idea when Anakin was the direct threat but now they were klicks away from him, his survival instincts kicked in and automatically decreed her as the closest, most viable threat. She'd just appeared, out of nowhere, on the Jedi temple grounds and knew it's layout to a point. She had managed to help them escape through corridors and underground tunnels that he didn't even know existed; that alone rung the alarm bells in his head.

"Who are you?" He called out as he climbed over a pile of debris from a crumbling building; this wasn't the fanciest side of Coruscant that was for sure.

"Someone you have to trust." She replied not wavering from her course as she navigated through the sea of permacrete slabs and shattered transparisteel like it was nothing.

"Why?"

"Because you'll die if you don't." She threw back in that same, easy tone. "The Order is falling, the Jedi are dying, without me, they will find you by morn."

"Why are you so important?" Witt's arms were beginning to ache from carrying the lifeless girl across this landscape.

"Because…" She paused, trying to think of a decent response before settling on. "I can't answer that; not yet."

"But-"

"Do you really want to do this now?" For the first time, the figure stopped her quick strides and turned to face him – her hood still covering her face. "She doesn't have time, okay? Nor do you for that matter, troopers are converging on us – they know we're here. Okay? So, how about you shut your stupid mouth; stang, you're annoying."

Witt was shocked by the girl's outburst, a few seconds ago she was all business and serious so that was unexpected to say the very least.

"M-master." Ahsoka mumbled deliriously. "Help." She whined a little. "Ma-ster…Padme…Obi-Wan. Help me."

Witt watched her for a few seconds but she fell silent. "What's wrong with her?"

"Her Master's assault on her mind has fractured it, her psyche is splintered and cracked…her mind is retreating into a vegetable state."

That was enough to alert the young boy and he flew into a fit of aggravation. "What the-? Did you not think to tell me about this earlier? We need to get her to a medcentre." He turned around and looked to the horizon for hints of the closest one.

"No. That's the first place Va-Anakin will look for her." The hooded girl replied. "He knows he's hurt her now; that's why he's stopped, and he's gonna have all medical clinics in the core on high alert for her. He wants her captured."

Witt was once again thrown off-guard by the amount of information the girl had on what was going on, things had only just begun and she already knew exactly how it was going down. He vaguely wondered if she was some sort of Jedi – maybe an exiled one or something – with perceptiveness like she had, she must be - either that or an espionage agent with strong connections. "How'd you know that?"

"It's complicated." She replied without hesitation.

"I'm good with complicated." Came his just as easy reply.

"Sure, you are."

Witt waited for a few seconds, giving her time to readily divulge the information but she remained silent, keeping up her quick pace through the deserted junkyard. "That's all you're gonna give me?"

"That's as good as it gets." The girl mumbled, about ready to knock the boy out. "I have my orders."

More silence crept over the pair as the finally exited the, seeming endless, junkyard, moving onto more easily traversable ground. It seemed like they were in the industrial part of the planet; which made sense, there'd be less patrols out here opposed to civvie streets.

"Where ya' taking us?"

"To Senator Amidala of the Naboo."

"Why?"

"That's where she needs to be." She replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why?"

"Because…it just is." The girl sighed and stopped for a few seconds, looking for the right direction before deciding on ducking down a small gap between two buildings, Witt close on her heels. She stopped suddenly, the young Jedi Knight almost crashing into the back of her and dropping Ahsoka. "Clones. Clone troopers. Dammit, I should've brought a cloak for you two." She turned around and began looking around the alley. "I need something black."

Witt couldn't hold back the snarky comment that he groaned under his breath. "Doesn't your soul qualify?"

"Do you think this is funny?" She asked him darkly. "Those men aren't on your side anymore and she…" The girl pointed to Ahsoka "…is number one on Skywalker's most wanted list."

"Well, it doesn't matter – we won't be able to just sneak past them in big robes – they aren't stupid." A contemplative look crossed across the boy's face as a figurative light bulb hovered over him. "Why don't we ditch her?" It wasn't at all Jedi like of him but right now he didn't really care, things were going wrong – things didn't make sense – and he had a feeling things would only get worse from hereon in.

Witt could've sworn he heard their cloaked friend growl at him before she icily replied. "We can't, we have to get her where she needs to be."

"Why does she need to be there?" Witt saw the usual 'can't tell you' response coming so he added. "This doesn't bother me; I don't care that much if she gets caught – I don't like her much…I can sit here all day 'till I get some answers. Why does she so desperately need to go to the Senator's?"

"Because she'll die otherwise! And that's if she's lucky; she could just stay in a coma for the rest of her life but right now she's fading away and if we don't get her to the Senator's, she will die." The girl snapped furiously, she grabbed Witt's arm and pulled him along behind her, back the way they had just come, away from the patrolling troopers. "I told you, her mind has been messed with. Anakin was trying to get through her defences so he could use mind control – a Sith trick - on her and force her to join him but he did it wrong, he didn't really know how to do it and he damaged her mind."

"But…how will that kill her? You said she was just going into a vegetable state." He accused her.

"Yes, she should just go into a vegetable state but her brain isn't coping with the damage…it's _shutting down_, it doesn't think her mind can heal so it's saving her the pain and shutting down _now_."

As if to testify that, Ahsoka began to spasm in Witt's arms and her body writhed in a fit-like manner, saliva bubbling at her lips as the neurons in her brain all fired at once and sent her body into an explosive series of convulsions.

Witt's instant reaction was to attempt to stop her thrashing around and squeeze her tighter into his chest; attempting to still the girl's rapid movements and still her but despite his best efforts, Ahsoka continued to lash out and writhe.

"Put her down." The girl commanded, not at all deterred by the girl that was thrashing around in Witt's arms. "She's having a seizure."

Witt hesitated for a few seconds, reminding himself that this girl was not to be trusted – she had told him nothing – and he would do well to be suspicious of her and to not adhere to her orders like a little puppy.

Seeing his hesitation, the girl chuckled coolly. "I won't bite you…much. Put her down or you'll end up injuring her, or yourself. We're on the same team."

_Yeah, that's likely._

Witt blinked a few times, somewhere in the back of his mind told him that her kicking was in fact hurting him and the girl had a point. So, he did as commanded, stepping back and looking around worriedly. "What do we do?"

The girl looked at him and he could almost sense her irritating pity; the last thing he needed. "We wait it out, that's all we _can_ do." She made a point of this by sitting down on the dusty floor, her legs crossing underneath her as she patiently waited for it to end.

And then he felt it.

It was quite first, like a small ripple that had washed up through the force…but it got stronger, and stronger. And then a tidal wave of pain and death hit him like a bomb. What was going on? He put a hand on the stone wall next to him and began to hyperventilate, hunching over as the sheer power of the disruption sent his mind spiralling through a maze of pain. The devastation of it was like a nuclear bomb and it was truly awful.

They were dying; the Jedi. He could feel every string of life that snapped, every light that blinked out and died. It was awful. It was unbearable. And at the centre of it all, the eye of the maelstrom was the man that they should've never trusted: Anakin Skywalker.

He could feel the darkness converging around the man, the swell of it was painful to look at through the force. It was so dark; he was so dark. And, he was killing them.

"Relax," There she was, the girl who seemed to know everything. "Put up your mental shields, block out the waves."

"We're dying." Witt had his hands on either side of his head and his eyes were as wide as saucers. "We're dying, the Jedi are dying. Oh, stang…it hurts, it's hurting me, it kriffing kills."

"Put up your shields." She reiterated, more firmly this time.

"It's killing me." Witt made a strangled noise. "Force, make it stop."

"Do as I say or it will get worse." Came her frighteningly calm tone.

Witt gulped and make a hoarse choking noise before he nodded, whining to himself a little, and he went to work, building up the shields they had spent countless hours learning to use, and slowly, but surely, the shields did their job and the tidal wave of emotions was kept back behind a dam.

When he stood straight - only just trusting himself to stand without collapsing, and/or vomiting – his eyes narrowed and he glared at the girl, who was knelt next to Ahsoka with her hands next to the comatose teens head, not quite touching but hovering next to her lekku.

"What are you doing?"

"Influencing her to reinforce her own." The girl replied without breaking concentration.

"You can't do that. No, really…you actually can't, she's unconscious, she won't know to do anything." He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The girl laughed. "You're so narrow-minded. It's all 'couldn't, wouldn't, shouldn't' with you, isn't it? I'll have you know that it is entirely possible to plant the idea in her head, allowing her to build on it unconsciously."

"No, you can't. There's no way."

"Sure, course not." She stood and clapped her hands together. "Done. She won't feel anything now, or any aftershocks when she wakes…I've gotten her to block herself off from the Jedi. She won't feel them dying. I doubt she'll even know what has gone down when she finally wakes."

Witt scowled at her with nothing less than pure disgust on his face. "It's funny, all this only kicked off when you showed up."

"Would you rather I'd left you to deal with Anakin?" He had the feeling she had a smug smile on her face, under that force-damned hood. "Need I remind you of who has truly caused all this to kick off: him."

Witt hacked a cough out before raising his hands in surrender. He leant against the wall behind him, his legs tangling beneath him as he slumped down it towards the floor. Force, he was shattered – it was like he hadn't slept in weeks. All this, and the whole deal with Vipera, had taken it's toll.

Speaking of Vipera. "Are you with Vipera?"

"I told yo-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…your employer wants to keep us in the dark." He cut her off irritably. "_Everyone_ wants to keep us in the dark."

The girl sighed tiredly before a mumbled tone came out of her mouth; Witt had to strain to hear her. "That's one of the reasons you were so easily manipulated by Vipera – you do as you're told, especially when threatened."

He sat up straighter, anger empowering him and his brow creased as he pointed a shaky finger at her. "What was I supposed to do? They were gonna kill my sister, I'm not gonna let her die 'cause of me, she's a kid. It's not my fault, they used her against me."

"I know." She held her hands up and waved them at him a little, indicating he should cease talking. "By force, do I know...I'm not accusing you – I'm not even judging you. I'm just pointing out it's one of the reasons they chose you; they knew they could control you."

His ears perked up. "_One_ of the reason?"

"Oh." She almost chuckled. "You didn't think it was just a happy coincidence that every Jedi they're using is under the age of 18? Didn't you wonder why you're all children? You, Ahsoka, the others – because there are more, many more."

"Tell me." He crawled forwards on his knees a little, like a child eager to hear a story.

She leant her head back against the wall and smiled beneath her cloak; this was where things got complicated but she needed someone to know – just in case she was killed – someone else had to know what they were doing. "Well…"

* * *

Anakin looked at the smouldering mess in front of him – this was once his home, the Jedi temple – he felt nothing as he watched the slaughter, he felt nothing as he watched the fires that ripped apart the huge structure. This was all necessary; a necessary evil – they would all understand one day, he had to do this.

"Sir, the Temple is secure." Captain Rex came up beside him and saluted stiffly.

Anakin looked at the man his eerie yellow eyes glowing as he regarded the Captain. "Have you found Tano?" No longer Ahsoka or Snips now, he was attempting to distance himself from her – it would benefit them both, he couldn't afford to be seen as having a soft spot for the girl – his new Master wouldn't allow it, he would destroy her.

"No sign, Sir."

Anakin's anger grew exponentially in just several seconds. "She can't have gotten far, she's unconscious." He bellowed, as if it were Rex's fault that the unconscious girl was somehow outrunning the clones. "Someone has to be helping her; you were instructed to eradicate _all_ the Jedi."

"We shall find her."

"I want her alive…she's no good to me dead." A few days ago, Anakin would've been utterly repulsed with himself at how he referred to his Padawan as a mere tool, something to be used to his benefit…a weapon.

"What of her accomplices?"

Anakin looked at Rex as if he were a bumbling fool and cruelly snapped. "You kill them. Now GO"

Rex fell into another salute before turning and jogging off, approaching a group of troopers that he would choose to aid him in his search for his General's elusive Padawan. Part of the Captain felt horror at his actions, he felt ashamed at how he was about to drag the teenage Togruta back to her Master; who he didn't believe was planning on playing happy families with the girl.

It was like she was nothing to the general anymore – no more than an irritation, something that needed to be converted or eradicated. It was like he didn't remember how much that girl had once meant to him; how he would move the heavens to keep her safe, but Rex remembered…he remembered that once, that girl was his friend.

* * *

Witt peered over the parked speeder that was giving them cover, his eyes roaming the landscape ahead of them worriedly. This was going to make every mission and every assignment he'd ever been on look like child's play; he was tempted to turn around right now and run – he could go and no-one would look for him properly, he was no-one important, Skywalker wasn't looking for him. He was the Padawan of a Knight that no-one had ever heard of; it would be easy to run and hide until it was safe again.

But, his conscience – or that annoying girl – wouldn't let him even attempt to flee.

He whistled lowly beneath his breath as he watched the patrols; he'd never seen such an assembly of stormtroopers outside private residence. How were they gonna pull this off?

"Why are there so many?" He muttered, mostly to himself but the girl caught it

"Isn't it obvious?" The girl mumbled lowly. "Skywalker has posted them here to keep a lookout for her."

"Why here?"

"Well, Ahsoka is close to Padme." The girl cocked her hooded head as she looked at the still unconscious girl, it almost seemed nostalgic. "It's only logical that the second things kick off, she'd go to somewhere safe – to someone that was on her side. Anakin wasn't the youngest council representative for no reason; he's clever – he always has been."

"He got on the council because of Palpatine." Witt replied

"Yeah but the council could've shot him down, the Chancellor has no power in the order – that's why he feels so threatened by it." She mused before going back to her original point. "They obviously must've agreed, at least a little bit, with Anakin's appointment or they would've denied him."

The pair fell into silence for a few minutes as they both attempted to scheme a plan to get them through the small army of stormtroopers that roamed the entrance. And, the worst part was that there were probably many more patrolling the corridors inside.

"Why don't you take her, and I go scout ahead for a path?" He began scheming ideas, running the off the top of his head.

The girl flinched away when he attempted to hand Ahsoka to her; she took a few shaky steps back before recovering her composure. "No, no, no. I already know how we're gonna get inside."

Witt sighed, he was beginning to get used to her constant attempts to withhold information. "You gonna share?"

"There are secret passages all over this building, there has to be just in case the place was attacked - the Senators and other important figures would need a way out undetected. There's one nearby that'll get you damn close to Padme." She replied easily, she pointed over towards the west wall of the building. "There's a slab on the floor that lifts, take you up to the hallways outside of her front door. There is one that takes you directly into her room but…that's more secure and you need an ID card. The one you're going to use only needs a password to open a door once you're down there: 474317."

"But they'll be guarded." He ground out in an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, which is why I'm going to lead them away and you two go on."

"What? No way." He replied quickly before shaking his head. "I don't agree with this plan…we're not doing this."

"Yeah…we are." She replied easily. "Ahsoka has to get to where she needs to be. Understood? That's all that matters. Promise me, Witt. Promise."

"It's a suicide mission. You won't live through this, there's too many." He felt the need to remind her where this mission will take her, what she'd have to sacrifice if she chose this path.

He could hear her grinding her teeth from exasperation. "It's my choice. Something I will gladly do again and again if it means that she's safe."

That rang alarm bells in his head, what did this girl have to do with Ahsoka? He couldn't pretend he knew Ahsoka, or who she associated with, but this level of devotion from someone couldn't be normal – someone that Ahsoka didn't appear to have any sort of bond or connection with at all. No, this couldn't be normal; she couldn't be acting without some form of ulterior motive. "Why does she matter so much to you?"

The girl froze at that, and flinched a little – as if physically slapped – and she went quiet for a few moments, as if she hadn't expected that question. "I can't tell you that."

"And why not? What, can't you come up with some lie to tell?" He didn't care about giving her a chance anymore – he didn't give a kriff that he owed his life to her - all he wanted was the truth.

"It's classified, the people I work for don't want you to know too much – only that you have to get her there." She recited in a monotonous way.

"The people you work for?" Funny, where had he heard that before?

"Yes." This was firmly, with a bit more personality than her last robotic reply.

"You keep gobbing on about all this 'classified' business but I-"

She grabbed his upper arm suddenly, being careful not to jostle Ahsoka. "Listen to me." She hissed, no longer able to tolerate the flurry of questions that constantly bombarded her. "We don't have time for this. She is going to die. Don't you get that?"

"Yeah, I do." He snarled back, tired of being treated like an infant. "But what I don't get is how a social visit to the Senator of Naboo will prevent that."

"Padme will do what is necessary to protect her." She remained adamant, not at all deferred by the boy's attempts to find flaws in her plan.

"And how do you know that?"

"Because I know Padme, and I know how compassionate she is…and how much she cares for Ahsoka." The girl seemed quieter. "5 minutes - that's all you'll have to get her up there. Trust me for 5 minutes, Witt."

He picked up something in that second – in that speech of hers. Something that he hadn't noticed before, something that made his blood run cold and his heart thud loudly in his ears and his wide eyes stuck to her shadowed face that remained infuriating hidden and his lips parted, a hoarse voice escaping them. "I never told you my name."

Who was this girl?

"I know." Cocky, apparently.

Before he could tell her to stop, she'd already thrown herself gracefully over the speeder, flying through the air and into plain view of the soldiers, standing in a pool of moonlight which bathed her in an eerie glow – easy to see to all. She reached inside her baggy brown cloak and pulled out a familiar metal hilt that glinted in the moonlight.

Whoosh. Even from where Witt was, you could hear the hiss of the lightsaber as it was turned on – it's green hue like a beacon. And then all hell broke loose…

Stormtroopers open fired the second they saw that bright lightsaber and they converged on her like moths to a flame; a swarm of irritating, buzzing pests. The laser fired lit up the sky with all its glory, painting the battle scene with a blue tinge which was amplified by the silvery moonlight.

She moved with grace and poise - nothing less than would be expected of a Jedi. But, that was the question: was she a Jedi? He hadn't thought so; but, seeing her - dancing a delicate weave with her lightsaber - made him second guess his initial conclusion.

She began to walk backwards, the opposite direction to him; constantly batting away bolts of fire like a professional athlete with the skill and elegance of a baton twirler. She made it look so easy, there was so much to concentrate on, so much different troopers firing at her from so many different directions, but she kept going without breaking form even once; nothing even had a chance of penetrating her defences.

She was most definitely a Jedi.

Witt saw his chance. He kept low, arching his back and hunching over just in case anyone happened to turn around and fire at him. He sprinted towards the direction his suicidal friend had pointed out and quickly slid down to the floor again, pressing himself against a wall that was between him and the multitude of storm troopers – who were currently preoccupied with his pleasant stranger.

"Slab." He put Ahsoka down, leaning her against the wall. His arms almost sighed with relief, having gotten rid of the dead weight they'd been carrying for the best part of 3 hours. "Slab. Slab. Slab. Slab. Stang it, slab, where the kriff are ya'?"

His fingers frisked the floor quickly and efficiently, sliding into every crevice they could find and pulling desperately, scratching futilely as he realised there were hundreds of slabs in this area. His fingers pry and pulled – blood seeping out from where it grated his skin and pulled at his nails.

"Slab!" He quietly cheered in triumph as one of the slabs moved and he put his back into lifting it and sliding it away from the entrance.

* * *

**Hope you like :) please review. I decided to update today because it seems like nobody else is - I haven't had an update alert in a few days :(  
**


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Witt pummelled through the tunnel, more than aware of the troopers that were following him – the blue bolts of fire were all too painful reminders. He ducked slightly, not even bothering to be mindful of Ahsoka – right now they had bigger problems. She was far too unconscious to register how her legs grated against the scratchy walls anyway – it was kind of like sandpaper.

He looked down at the comatose girl that he'd been carrying for a while now, wincing as he scraped her against the wall again. Oh well, it's not like she'd miss that top layer of skin.

"Ahhh." He threw himself into the wall, flattening them both into it – there was another layer of skin gone – as a large blast from a missile flew by them, lighting up the passageway ahead before bursting into a spectacular explosion.

He opened his eyes as he felt it pass by him and he couldn't stop the laugh of triumph that bubbled at his mouth playfully. "Nice try Jar-Jar." He threw behind him before he set off in a flat out run again; he needed to put some distance between them so they could easily sneak into Padme's apartment; if they saw them go in the flat that would defeat the purpose of using it as a hiding place.

He ducked as another missile sailed past. After all this was over, he was going to have a complete nervous breakdown – he'd worked for it, he owed it to himself and he'd be damned if someone tried to deprive him of it.

It was as if Ahsoka could innately sense her physical proximity to Padme, as the teenager groaned slightly and shifted in Witt's arms – to his annoyance. "Padme." She mumbled quietly before a louder. "Padme…help." She twisted in his arms more. "Padme!"

"Alright, Tano…I'm taking you, I'm taking you." Witt replied quickly. "Cool it."

They had been so close.

Witt fell to the floor as the flamethrower nipped his back, singeing the flesh slightly. Luckily, the boy's instincts automatically kicked in, and the years of training meant he dropped unconsciously to the floor, falling on top of Ahsoka; who had managed to avoid the flames that had licked at her fellow Padawan.

He groaned as the air cruelly tortured his burnt back and he let out a strangled cough, before a noise one would associate with an injured animal erupted from deep within him.

That had _really_ hurt; he didn't think he could stand, let alone run. He was done for. Fingers crossed that it would be quick.

It was funny, Witt had always imagined he would die at the hands of some droids – alongside his troops – with the dignity and grace that was entirely befitting of a Jedi; of course, the Universe thought it would be much funnier to have his own troops snuff him out.

_Only the force had this sense of humour_, he found himself bitterly thinking.

Then next thing Witt heard was that the cries from the troopers that had been following him – it implied that things seemed to be looking up. Either that or there was a spider or something.

"You're useless" Ahhh, his cloaked friend had returned, "…completely useless. One thing: that's all you needed to do and you still muck it up."

Only this girl could bring out the fight in him and distract him from the skin that was peeling from his back. "You didn't exactly live up to your side of the bargain. If these guys hadn't of followed me, I woulda' got up there fine."

"Oh, I'm sorry – I thought you'd be able to manage the few strays that would've inevitably noticed you slipping through the hole in the floor. All. _Seven_. Of. Them."

"I had to carry her." He stood and hissed at the girl, motioning to Ahsoka, who he'd left on the floor for the time being. "I could've taken them if I had a free hand."

"There were _seven_." She swung her lightsaber, batting away the fire.

"My hands were full." He threw back.

"Sev-en." She told him condescendingly.

"Hands. Full." He reiterated, contemplating whether or not to throttle her.

"Seven; that's all I'm saying." She thrust her lightsaber through the final stragglers chest before sliding it back beneath her billowing cloak.

Witt resisted the urge throw back an equally snarky comment; he would not sink to her pathetic level.

His hands flew to his head as it hammered from the rush of adrenaline; he had thought he would die. That was the second time that stranger saved him; the second time he owed to his life to her intervention. But, who exactly did he owe his life to?

"Who are you?" He asked for what seemed like the fiftieth time. "A name? A place? Anything?"

She looked at him – it felt more like she was looking through him – and she seemed worlds away; lost in her own memories for a few seconds as his words ignited a spark of nostalgia. She mouthed something, Witt could tell even though she was still beneath a hood and something told him she was answering his question – quietly, unnoticeably – she was saying her name, testing it on her lips as if she'd forgotten it; it hadn't been used it so long.

"What's your name?" Witt asked again.

She jolted slightly as she came back to reality. "Lolah."

"Just Lolah?" The first name didn't ring a bell.

She steadied herself and looked a bit surer as she pushed the memories back behind the wall she'd created for them. "Lolah San-Kato."

Nope, that didn't ring any bells either, and he was pretty sure that, with a name like that, he would of recognised it instantly had he heard of her before. The name was one of those you didn't forget, he couldn't place why but he knew that name was one that would stick with him; even if he never saw the girl again.

There was something about her – this girl; something he couldn't put his finger on. It was like it was staring him in the face but he was wearing a blast shield, it was so obvious yet…he hadn't figured it out yet. It was exasperating but interesting at the same time; he'd always loved puzzles.

He would keep an eye on this one.

"Get her." Lolah motioned to Ahsoka before using her lightsaber to light up the rest of the murky tunnel. "Be careful, it starts ascending quite steeply from here."

* * *

The young stranger flattened herself against the wall, her heart hammering and she squeezed her eyes shut – awaiting the obnoxious alarm to go off, the alarm that would be like a death chime to her; telling her of her impending doom as the hundreds of very armed, very dangerous soldiers came for the intruder. They had seen her; she was so sure of it. They must have, they were so close – she hadn't even sensed them.

A few minutes passed before she felt confident enough to open her eyes again, albeit very very slowly and with trepidation worthy of it's own classification of an anxiety disorder. She found it hard to belief what she saw; or, rather, didn't see. She turned her head to both sides, and her eyes were wide with shock. Nothing? Really? She looked slowly around the corner, her heart felt like it would fly out of her ribcage and she almost fainted from pure fright. But, they were all still down at the bottom of the corridor, guns at the ready and alert as they should be.

But they hadn't seen her. Now, that was luck for you; very lucky.

She took a few shaky steps towards the small hole she'd managed to clamber through and hissed into it, all the while keeping her eyes on the approach; they could happen upon them any minute and if she were to die, at least she'd be able to warn those two and save them. "Clear."

"Grab her." Witt held Ahsoka up for her.

"No. no. no." She waved Witt's attempts to hand her the girl away, "I'm keeping watch."

Witt groaned and mumbled a few choice swear words. "You can't multitask?"

"No."

Witt threw Ahsoka up, wincing slightly as she bounced and rolled a few times against the very solid floor before coming to a stop on her side, still knowing nothing of the bruises that were forming or anything of the conscious world; reality still escaped her. It was beginning to frighten Witt; what if she never woke? He didn't want to have the responsibility for being the one to let this happen. He could've done more; he could've tried harder to stop her Master's attack.

Once he had a steady footing and had put the flooring back in position - covering the hole with the rug that had originally coated the floor – he lifted Ahsoka back into his arms; _at least they hadn't had time to get use to being free from the dead weight of a teenager._

He found himself bitterly questioning why exactly he was the one involved in all this; surely there were more equipped Jedi - ones that weren't him. He knew for a fact that he certainly wasn't the best for this mission. For starters, he didn't like Ahsoka. Surely she would be much better off with someone that actually liked her – though they were few; he couldn't fathom how anyone could stand the irritating girl that thought she was everything just because she was Skywalker's Padawan.

The other girl that he disliked had already taken off down the opposite side of the corridor to the guards, her footsteps light and quick – something he struggled to emulate and he winced at every heavy footfall that echoed down the hall – and soon she was around a corner and gone from his sight.

_Clap. Clap. Clap_. His feet continued to fall heavy and loud.

So, _this_ was why he wasn't on the frontlines, it appeared. He winced as a particularly loud step bounced off every wall it could find; he was like a stanging Gundark.

"Who are you?" That sounded like Senator Amidala alright.

When Witt finally round the corner, he came face to face with his irritating stranger who was stood in front of a door to an apartment; a door which had a very confused, slightly annoyed Senator stood in it. That was until she saw Witt, and also Ahsoka who was still in his arms. Her eyes fixed on Witt, then Ahsoka and something flashed like a spark in the brown orbs.

Witt gulped.

"Ahsoka!" The woman rushed out of the doorway, and straight over to Witt, her hands cradling the unconscious girls head and she gently stroked her face before looking up at Witt with an icy cold glare which made him want to drop the girl and run away.

It was like one of those nature shows where it shows what lengths the mother Gundark will go to, to protect her cubs; the ones where you see those perceived as a threat being dismembered and mangled for even smiling at their young.

"What have you done to her?" He noticed her hand drop from Ahsoka and itching towards where he was sure she'd concealed a blaster.

Yes, this was _exactly_ like one of those nature shows.

"I did nothing!" He said angrily before his eyes flew back to her hand which had clasped around something that seemed more and more like a blaster. "Don't shoot me." That came out as more of a pathetic whine than the order he intended it to be.

The woman looked at him harshly, an order to explain before she lost her patience and just shot him outright. Witt quickly spat out the story. "She just passed out, we were looking for someone and she just crashed…poof. I brought her here because the temple isn't safe and she…" Witt pointed to the cloaked girl "…told me too."

"She was asking for you." The girl put in quickly, she'd rather not have too much attention brought to herself, not yet.

The woman wrapped her arms around Ahsoka, as if to take her from Witt but the boy remained firm and he shook his head. "I think you should let me carry her, you'll struggle in your state." He nodded towards her very pregnant, very noticeable stomach.

"I'm not disabled." There was that glare again, it was like the one Ahsoka gave him whenever she saw him about the temple - you know, that 'I hope you die in agony' sort of look that all female seemed particularly skilled at - before she let go off Ahsoka – albeit begrudgingly – and gestured for them to go inside.

Padme's heart was racing. Ahsoka was hurt, more so than her unconscious state indicated. She had a feeling that something was very very wrong with the young girl, she could just tell – she could feel it within her in a way she couldn't explain or pinpoint; maternal instincts she supposed. But what had happened to Ahsoka? The boy had said she had just collapsed but was she to believe him, he didn't look like anything more than a confused child but _someone_ had done this to Ahsoka. Could she trust a boy she had just met? A boy that had come with an unconscious Ahsoka in his arms and then claimed it wasn't his actions that had put her that way.

And, where was Anakin? He had said he would fix things and yet Ahsoka turned up on her doorsteps in a very unfixed manner.

* * *

Padme dabbed Ahsoka's forehead with a wet cloth. The teenager had managed to accumulate a fever; not too high, but enough to worry Padme.

Ahsoka didn't get sick; her immune system was ridiculously competent, she never got sick. Really. In all of the time she'd known her – all those years – never once had Ahsoka gotten sick, apart from that whole blue shadow virus incident but that didn't count.

It made Padme's heart race so fast she feared it would explode, it made her feel dizzy and alert, and isolated and overcrowded all at the same time. She didn't know she could feel this frightened, and it was a new sort of fear, the sort that made you want to vomit and cry. Padme had been afraid before, of course she had, but never like this. This was a horrific fear for someone else, someone she couldn't bear to lose.

And she was so afraid because deep deep down she knew that she was going to lose Ahsoka, and that frightened her more than any army or virus or person. Maybe not now at this very minute, maybe not within the next hour or day…but soon. She didn't need to be a Jedi to understand that this little Togruta was slipping away, and she didn't think she could save her.

"Oh Ahsoka…" Padme put her hand to Ahsoka's feverish cheek. "What's happened, sweetheart? Where's Anakin? What has happened that is so bad that he hasn't sensed this?"

Ahsoka leant into Padme's cool touch, seeking the relief from the burn that was consuming her every cell. Padme closed her eyes for a few seconds to collect herself, it wouldn't do to panic; if anything that would make the situation worse as Ahsoka would pick up on her anxiety attack.

"What's happened to you, my darling?" Padme's voice had risen an octave now as she looked out to the smoking mess that was once the temple; everything was going so horribly wrong. "It's alright, he'll come…he will. He wouldn't leave us. He'll be able to help you, I know it – you just hang on until he gets here. Do you understand me? Don't go giving up now; it's just a little fever" - a fever that was getting frightening higher by the minute.

Padme knew that Togruta tended to run several degrees higher than humans but Ahsoka was warmer than she'd ever felt her, she felt like a radiator, any higher and she would be getting into dangerous levels.

"Have you tried contacting Anakin?" The girl she didn't know asked.

"He's not answering his comm." Padme looked at the girl that kept her hood up. "Who are you?"

She looked at Padme for a few seconds and Witt got that feeling radiating off her - as if she had met Padme before - and she was silent for a few seconds before a quiet, "Lolah", escaped her lips and she took a few steps back, out of the spotlight.

Witt walked over to her. "I thought we were avoiding Anakin."

Despite is attempts to keep his conversation quiet, Padme had heard him. "Avoid him, why would you avoid him?" She looked down to Ahsoka. "If you've done this to her-"

"We need him to find her here." The girl told her accomplice, cutting straight through Padme. She then lowered her voice to a whisper for only Witt to hear. "Padme needs to be here because he's less dangerous around her. If Padme isn't here then when Ahsoka wakes, then it would be so dangerous for her. Anakin is first and foremost a Sith now. They will fight and he will get carried away and with no-one to stop him, to calm him, he will kill her. With Padme here, he's calmer and…less of a threat."

"But why?" Witt reiterated, using his arms to convey his irritation. "We've just done all that to get her away! What, just to bring her to him at the right time? So she can die to our timetable? The most convenient time?"

"He's the one who inflicted the damage, so he's the only one that can reverse it."

"Are you trying to say that Anakin did this?" Padme gestured to Ahsoka. "Anakin would neve-"

"Well he did, milady." Witt snapped, the lack of sleep finally getting to him.

"It was an accident." The girl forcefully interjected, Padme couldn't find out yet; she would confront Anakin - angering him which, all in all, put Ahsoka at risk. They needed Anakin to be as calm as they could possibly get him – as calm as a Sith can get – when he revives Ahsoka.

Padme looked at the girl again. "I recognise your voice…I…who are you again? Your name?"

"Lolah San-Kato." She mumbled quietly, bowing her head. No-one noticed Witt straighten up quickly and his eyes flash with understanding before it morphed into confusion, his dark brown eyes attached themselves to Lolah's figure and watched her silently.

Padme didn't need to be a Jedi to sense the lie and she easily retorted. "And who are you really? I can't shake the feeling that I know you, and your voice is so familiar but I can't place it."

"I'm-" She froze for a few seconds before spinning to face Witt. "He's coming. We have to move. We have to leave, he's not close enough to sense us yet but he will very soon if we don't move."

Witt didn't even bother asking the girl how she had managed to sense Anakin if he wouldn't be able to sense them due to the distance. He had already started working it out; putting the little pieces together in his head as it finally dawned on him.

"Witt. Move. Anakin. Here." Lolah snapped her fingers at the boy, jolting him out of his reverie slightly.

The word, Anakin, was all Witt needed to quickly jolt into action and hurry towards the door, his eyes worried; if Skywalker caught them here then he would kill them before they had time to even tell him of Ahsoka. They had to disappear for a while, which worked out to his benefit, as he had to confront the stranger. Because, he was smart and good at piecing puzzles together - one didn't become top of their class by ignoring vital clues – and he thought he'd figured her out.

Padme went and stood near the landing platform, wringing her hands with worry and anxiety – those children had talked about things; mad things, but things that made her wonder…what if they were true? Of course, Padme trusted her husband and she knew anything he did was for the greater good of their family but…what could give those two children reason to say that? What if there was an inkling of truth to their words?


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

When Anakin climbed out of his speeder, swiftly and gracefully, Padme quickly closed the gap between them and threw herself into his arms.

But it felt different; the way he hugged her back, the way his chest rose and fell with every breath, even the way he stood. She resisted the urge to shiver as the boy words ran over him again; the boy had said that Anakin had hurt Ahsoka…but…how? Ani would never...not like this. Sure, he had lashed out before but…that was a onetime thing. He…he wouldn't ever dream of doing this to her…not Ahsoka.

Ahsoka and Anakin had an explosive and volatile relationship at times, they were both so hard-headed and stubborn but…they'd never come to blows about things; Anakin would never dream of hurting Ahsoka…not in his right mind.

"Anakin." Padme took a shuddering breath as she attempted to sort through her racing thoughts.

Anakin breathed in his wife's soothing scent and he closed his eyes for a few seconds his brow furrowed, though. "You're trembling. What's wrong?"

"Ani," Padme pulled back and took his hand. She looked him in the eyes for a few seconds, as if looking for any hint of darkness or ill intent but all she saw was the blue, those brilliant blue eyes…how could this man be anything but good. No, she wouldn't believe it. Anakin was good!

"Padme?" Anakin pressed, sensing the fear that was coursing through his spouse.

Padme shook herself out of her confused state and tugged her husband's hand. "It's Ahsoka. You must help her." She pulled him along behind her, towards the lounge where Ahsoka was still laid on a settee, a thin layer of sweat coating her deathly pale skin. "She's been like this since they brought her here, she's just getting worse. Ani, what's wrong with her? She's never gotten sick before, has she? Not like this."

"Of course." Anakin mumbled to himself, with a slight frown as he regarded the girl. "Of course she'd come here, right under my nose."

"_Ani_!" Padme urged him. "What happened to her?"

Anakin let go of Padme's hand and walked towards the girl, his eyes hard and cool. Whilst he kept a blank face, his mind was battling with itself. He wasn't sure what to do right now. He had told himself that he would do whatever was necessary – he had knelt before his Master and promised it – and he had steeled his resolved, prepared himself, in case this moment should arise. If Ahsoka did not join him, he would kill her. But…now the moment was here, it was a lot harder to put his feelings aside – to replace his care and love for the girl with hatred and anger.

"Tell me, Anakin." Padme was right behind him. "Just tell me."

Part of his mind – the decent part where the true Anakin Skywalker took residence – told him to help her, to do whatever he could to help her, and then hide her; it wasn't safe around him, not now. If he wanted to do right by her, he would do his best to send her somewhere that the Emperor wouldn't ever find her.

However, the other side of him – a dark dangerous part that had seeded itself within him through the past few years – told him that she was no different than the others; she was a Jedi and he'd been ordered to destroy them, Ahsoka had been given leeway…but only if she joined them. That part of his mind told him that, if she didn't join them, it was a betrayal just as potent as the rest of their pitiful organisation…and she would deserve to die too.

The inner turmoil threatened to overcome him; he knew what he should do – as a Sith. But, he also knew what he should do as her primary guardian, as the person that had sworn to protect her. Both sides of him were in an all out war: the Sith vs. the Jedi.

It was easy in theory; she was unconscious and no threat whatsoever. It should be no more complicated than thrusting his lightsaber through her chest. It shouldn't inspire any hesitation or doubt. It was simple.

Anakin resented her; he resented her simply because she was compromising his position – she was making things so much harder than need be. He blamed her for his struggled to kill her; she was making him weak. It was Sith vs. Jedi…that was how it had always been.

But…what if he could make her a Sith? What if he managed to turn the girl; she could be an invaluable asset, she could help him overthrow the Chancellor and take control of the Republic, mould it into the world he wanted.

_I'm never going to hurt you; I'm going to do whatever I can to protect you…I promise. _The promise he had made her, so very long ago, rung solidly in his ears – as if it were taunting him, reminding him of all the girl meant to him.

"Mas-ter" Ahsoka mumbled, twisting a little on the settee. Her voice was strained and so high-pitched it would shatter glass. "Master. St-stop. S-sorry. I-I…I'm…s-s-sorrryyy. Noooo." She writhed a little more and her sweat covered brow furrowed as if she were in pain. "Help. Master. Sk-Skyguy"

Anakin's breath caught in his throat for a few seconds. To him, it felt like time had stopped entirely; she was calling out to him…him! Of all people, after everything that had happened – all he'd done to her – she was still calling for him…just him. It emboldened the light side of him; gave it more reason to fight. Ahsoka was his, just as much as the child in his wife; could he just leave her like this? Could he kill her right now while she was an easy target?

Could he?

The light part of him won over when he saw her writhing slightly on the settee and he couldn't get over there quick enough.

It wasn't fair; she was cheating. She couldn't just writhe around and have a minor fit to win him over; it was emotional blackmail. She knew him; she knew he was too involved – too attached – to watch her suffer, even now – after everything he'd done – it still hurt him, especially since he'd done that to her.

Converting her would come later.

He wouldn't take no for an answer, she would be at his side – where she belonged – and he didn't care how long it took, or what he had to do to bring her around to his side. She would stay where with him, where she belonged, whether she liked it or not. He wouldn't allow her to betray him, not after all he'd gone through to ensure her safety. No, he needed her to stay with him. He didn't trust anyone else to take care of her, and he certainly didn't trust her.

But right now he would look after her, just as he'd always done – he'd given up everything to keep her safe, her and Padme, and he wouldn't let anyone stop him, not even them.

Anakin knelt down next to the settee, reaching for Ahsoka's temples and lightly placing a forefinger and middle finger on each. He wasn't much of a healer but he was the one that had caused the complete mental trauma, it was his mind that had ravaged hers, so it was only him that could heal her…in theory.

He commanded the force to him – _had it always been this difficult to summon it?_ – and he wrapped the energy around his fingers and used them as a connection to channel the energy into his comatose Padawan.

The first sign of Ahsoka coming out of her retentive state was when her body lost the glistening layer of sweat that had coated it. Next, her skin began to regain some of its colour; losing that frightening deathly pale shade that had almost put his wife into cardiac arrest.

Ahsoka moaned slightly and her eyelids fluttered, she went to put her hands to her head but Anakin quickly batted them away before resuming the healing process. "M-my head. Nooooo." She went for her head again but, again, Anakin shoved her hands back at her sides.

When he went to put his hands to her temples again, he jumped from surprise slightly, keeping a steady gaze on the two blue orbs that met his with a levelled glare. She was awake, and very very cross, apparently the mental trauma wasn't enough to make her forget the last 12 hours or so…stang.

"How dare you?" He quickly caught her hands when she lunged at him, and pushed her back into the seat, his eyes flashing dangerous as she hissed at him. "You've got nerve showing your face here."

"Ahsoka-"

"Don't you Ahsoka me." She hissed as she sat up and went to hit him but he coiled his hands around her wrists and glared at her; warning her to not even try it. "You put me in a _coma_."

"It was hardly a coma, Ahsoka; just a bit of mental trauma." Anakin said in an annoyed tone.

Ahsoka gave him a look that seemed to question his intelligence, or, rather, lack of. "_That's a coma." _She snapped at the man then she looked down at his hands, which were coiled around her wrists and she began to pull and thrash around again, attempting to get free.

A quick, unexpected foot to his stomach was enough to temporarily disable him, long enough for her to slide past him fluidly and make a break for the door. She didn't look back, for fear she might catch a glimpse of those yellow eyes once again.

"Ahsoka!" She heard his furious, icy tone and doubled her attempts for escape.

She was almost there when a speeder hit her - or at least it felt like it – and then her Master slid an arm around her waist and, despite how she dug her heels in and pushed her weight down towards the floor, her toes left the carpeted ground.

Ahsoka twisted and thrashed in his arms, screeching her protests as he half-dragged, half-carried her away from the exit. When he put her down, Ahsoka attempted to run again but he hadn't released his grip around her waist; her attempts were thwarted before they'd had a chance to be put into place.

"Geroff." Ahsoka said with barely contained anger but her Master only tightened his grip around her, only adding fuel to her fury so she glared at him and screeched. "_Get off me_."

"What is wrong with you?" Anakin hissed back, all too aware of his slipping grasp on the limited amount of patience he had. His grip around her waist was becoming painful and only increased her attempted to get away.

"I wanna get away from you."

"Stop, stop," Padme stood a little to their left, trying to intervene before someone got hurt, "the pair of you. Stop it. Anakin, stop! You'll hurt her."

"Calm down." Anakin hissed. "Stop throwing a tantrum like some infant."

"Hypocrite." Ahsoka began to pant quickly, out of breath from her little fit. "_You_ calm down."

"Do not tell me what to do; you are walking on thin ice, little girl." Anakin's growl was enough to make Ahsoka rethink and take a few seconds to calm down; stopping her thrashing around. "You will do as you are told, Ahsoka. I will not stand for your games, and your lies and your manipulations any longer. From now on, you will obey me."

Ahsoka growled in a predatory way and hissed. "This conversation is feeling very one sided." She wriggled more but stopped the second he increased the pressure around her scrawny body; to a point where it was crushing her rib cage.

Anakin waited for a few seconds, allowing himself a few precious seconds to simmer down – the last thing he needed was her walking out of here with a crushed trachea and a thirst for revenge. "Are you going to cooperate now?" His voice was calm, dangerously calm; anyone that knew him would understand how close he was to losing control. It was a wonder he'd kept a rein on things this long, anyone else would be dead by now.

"Get. Off. Me." Ahsoka said in a clipped tone, trying to resist the urge to sink her teeth into one of his constricting arms. "_Now_." The icy way in which she ordered him was slightly eerie to watch; Padme wrung her hands and watched Ahsoka with unease.

"What did I say about telling me-"

"I _don't_ care." Ahsoka began to shriek again. "Let me go. Let me go. You're a monster; I don't want you anywhere near me. You betrayed me. Get away from me. You're pathetic; you're not even bothered about what you've done. Get away. You've ruined everything."

"Obey m- aarghh." Anakin let go of Ahsoka when she sank her predatory fangs into her teeth, and he was all too quick to push her away, causing the teen to stumble back unsteadily for a few steps. "Bad move." His eyes were yellow again – awful, horrible, eerie yellow – and Ahsoka, though she tried not to show it, was frightened; she was properly truly scared of him…and with good reason.

Her heart thumped loudly – she thought maybe he could hear it too – as she realised the situation she gotten into. This wasn't her Master anymore, this was a man that had been drive into the brink of insanity by fears and his desperation to keep his loved ones with him. This was a man that would personally see her – and probably the baby too - slaughtered if it meant he could save his wife.

This wasn't Anakin Skywalker anymore. She didn't even think Anakin Skywalker existed anymore.

He raised his hand to her for the second time in less than a week and Ahsoka flinched; automatically bringing her hands up in defence this time. But, she didn't need to. Padme spurred into action the second she realised her husband's intentions and grabbed his wrist, putting a surprising amount of force into keeping him away from Ahsoka.

"Don't you dare hit her, Anakin Skywalker." Padme told him in a calm manner that was much more threatening than any shouting or screaming ever could be. "Don't ever raise a hand to her again. She's a child." Padme sighed and looked up at her husband, pleading with him to stop all this. "She's just a child, Ani. Calm down, please. Don't do something you'll regret, this isn't you…Ani, please."

Anakin looked at his wife and blinked, his eyes turning softening for a few moments before he bowed his head and mumbled something to his wife that Ahsoka couldn't pick up. When Anakin looked up again, his eyes were blue – slightly speckled with yellow but they were mostly back to normal.

Though, Ahsoka couldn't quite get the image of his gleaming yellow eyes – so full of malice and hatred – from her mind's eye. It was like it had been branded there, just as surely as any other scar she possessed. And, like them, this one had no chance of healing – it would be with her forever.

Anakin looked to Ahsoka, who was still stood with wide eyes and a betrayed look. "Ahsoka-" He bowed his head in shame, looking to the floor before raising his head to meet her eyes. "I'm-I-I'm sorry, little one. I don't know what came over me."

Ahsoka looked at him, nothing more – she just stared – before her lips parted, and then closed again, as if she thought better off it. She shook her head sadly and whispered, "I do", though, it seemed shouted to Anakin. "I've known for months…and you do too." Ahsoka bit her lip and then reiterated. "You _do_." She raised her tone a little more as her courage grew. "He's changed you…he's taken you away from us and-and I think he's almost succeeded."

"Ahsoka, I'm sorry."

"That's not good enough." Her tone was so quiet but every word rang in his ears.

"I care about you, Ahsoka. Everything I'm doing is to keep us safe." He told her, growling slightly before his wife put a hand on his soulder.

She shook her head. "Still not good enough." She turned away and headed out of the spacious room, looking to be anywhere that he wasn't.

"Snips," Anakin went to chase her but Padme put a hand on his chest.

"Let her have some space, Ani."

"But-"

"No, she needs time to clear her head…and so do you." Padme's voice took on a clipped tone. "And in the mean time, you can tell me exactly what is going on because I…I've been hearing awful things Anakin."

"The J-Jedi…" The lie tasted so sour in his mouth, it made him want to shove it back down his throat and keep it there. "…they betrayed us. I-I…they've been plotting to overthrow the Republic for years, several of them attempted to kill me when I went to arrest and charge them. It was kill or be killed."

"Ani-"

"There was nothing else I could do." Lies, lies, all lies…but what else was he to tell he? He didn't want to needlessly worry her, he couldn't go putting her under strain she didn't need. Padme didn't need to know what was going on – he wouldn't tell her.

How had they gotten to this place - this dark, cold, desolate place that seemed so very hopeless? When exactly had they started traversing down this path; a path of betrayal and hatred and mistrust? Anakin could remember a time that wasn't as dark, less than a year back – it was place where there was trust and happiness and love, and he missed that place.

He knew they could never go back, though.

That place, beautiful it may be, was not strong enough to keep his family with him. No, there was only one way he could save them: by learning from his new Master. He wouldn't risk his wife, he wouldn't risk her for anything – not even for their happiness.

* * *

Witt and Lolah sat on the roof of a building a far distance from 500 Republica, though not so far that it was out of sight. They had to keep an eye out for Ahsoka in case something went wrong, in case the plan was botched and they needed to intervene.

Lolah knew what she wanted, she knew what she needed to happen and she knew that everything would go to plan, but that didn't stop her from wanting to oversee it personally.

Witt was just following Lolah, he knew that the safest place he could be was with her, especially now he'd figured a few things out about her – all he needed was confirmation.

"Lolah San-Kato." He spoke quietly to himself, running it over his brain again. "You know, I'm one of the smartest of my age group, contrary to popular belief. And, you know, that's not because I sit by and ignore the obvious."

"I know." She replied easily. "I knew you'd figure it out."

"It's clever." He looked out to the horizon. "And very confusing…how?"

"It's complicated; it involved a lot of work and time and quite a bit of the force. I don't even know how we managed it but…all that matters is that it worked." She cocked her head to the side. "We've all been working on this for years, moulding everything to how we want it so that when the events were put into motion, they rolled in the direction that we wanted. We've been influencing every major decision for decades."

"Why exactly did you influence it? What brought that on? Couldn't you just leave things be?"

The girl sat quietly, thinking of how to approach to question. "Ahsoka is an…anomaly. It's hard to explain. But…the force never really had many plans for her. Right…imagine a path had been set before a person – a specific destiny they had to follow that didn't have much leeway for change. Imagine the force had decided someone's future long ago. Then, all of a sudden, a new person entered that person's life, someone that hadn't been planned for originally. So, the force does the only thing it could: it tries to get right of this anomaly."

Witt frowned before looking at his accomplice "Like a computer?"

"Yeah, if you like to think of it that way." She said before cocking her head and looking at him in a patronising manner. "But it's nothing like that."

"And Ahsoka is the anomaly?" He ignored her previous statement; this was _exactly_ like a computer/

"Yes."

"So, why isn't she dead? Surely, it would've just been deleting her."

"It's tried, it tried a lot but…Ahsoka is protected by the one person that the force _needs_ to survive: Anakin Skywalker. It's tried to kill her – to remove her from the equation – but every time it does, Anakin gets in the way. It would end up killing them both so it's sort of left her be…until now; now, it had an opportunity – when Anakin broke through her mental defences; she would've died if left that way for too long, her brain would've shut down. That's why you needed me; I helped you prevent that by bringing her where she needs to be."

"But…she'll die eventually won't she?"

"Not if we get her through these current events. Once all this is over, this shift of power from the light side to the dark, then that's it…the events that the force wanted to happen have happened so it won't care about any anomalies anymore, it's results have come through exactly as predicted and it's happy now. Remember the force is neutral; all it cares for is its continuity – for at least one side of force-users to survive. Who cares if there's one more Jedi alive in the galaxy? She's not gonna be able to do anything, she's not enough to bring Anakin back…the force will have forgotten her pretty much."

"So we just need to get her through these events?"

"You make it sound so easy."

They sat in silence for a while, Witt's mind was almost overflowing from the sheer amount of information he'd just received, and the nature of it. He looked at her again. She was a lot smarter than he'd given her credit for, and she was good, she was very good. How she'd managed it, he would never know. From his perspective, it was simply impossible…or, at least, it should've been.

"What do the two 'L-"

"Long live." She chuckled as his bemused expression. "I was feeling rebellious at the time; everything had just crashed down around me and I wanted to make a statement."

"And you managed to keep on going and you did all this." He gestured to her and smirked. "You're good, you're great. I take back everything I've said about you."

"I hardly did it alone, I tried…I really did but…I'm not as good as you seem to think. These last few years haven't been too bad but…during the earlier days…I couldn't cope…not at all. You couldn't possibly imagine all I've seen. Mind you, it hasn't all been bad but…when it is, it's awful. I just had to learn to cope…just like any other being with a will to survive would."

"But-"

"You don't know the half of it."

"Maybe not but…to do all this? To be capable of it. Not just the physical side but also the psychological; the emotional. You're strong. Really…you are; the strongest person I've ever met…I couldn't do it."

"No. You're wrong again." She bowed her head. "I'm really not. I used to be; I was such a strong girl." She cocked her head in a nostalgic way.

"But?" Witt prodded, eager to find out more about this mysterious person – he felt like he had only scraped the surface with the latest revelation. "What's happened to you? What's happened to everything? You know so much…tell me."

"So much has changed – so much has happened - and I've had to deal with way more than any person should ever have to go through…and I think it's killing me. Everything around me crashed and I'm falling right along with it...I'm not that strong anymore. I wish I was but…the people that made me strong – the ones that got me to strive on – they're…all gone now. It's just me. I'm all that's left." She nodded a little. "You'll see eventually because everything around _you_ is falling too…it won't be long before you fall alongside all this."

Witt stared blankly for a few moments before settling for throwing small stones off of the roof, watching them sail of towards the horizon in a graceful arch. "But…why come here? What brought _you_ here? Why did it have to be _you_?"

"Just to ensure things run smoothly. I know more than anyone and I know that there are some things that need to happen here or Ahsoka will die, and that isn't at all beneficial to the cause. We need her. But, she wouldn't have made it without help, and she needs to be at Padme's more than anything. I just know it. Anakin has some things to tell her, things she _needs_ to hear. And…she needs him to betray her, she needs him to lie and break her heart, it's the only way that she'll be strong enough to do what needs to be done."

"Won't that do more harm than good? Having her betrayed by Anakin of all people, you know she thinks the sun shines out of him. It'll destroy her." He stopped throwing stones long enough to level her with an anxious look that also conveyed a small amount of sadness; for all that was to come.

"She needs to learn that he can't be relied on, she needs something to shatter her trust in him so that she never trusts him again because he's dangerous…and this will benefit her in the long run." She huffed out a breath of air. "Sometimes…you've got to be hurt before you can move on. And that makes you stronger."

Witt easily combated her statement "But at other times, you get hurt and you can never trust again."

"You say that like it's a bad thing. Being mistrustful can help; it kept me alive."

Witt nodded and looked over towards the apartment complex, as if he hoped he'd be able to see the Togruta, he was more than curious about what she so desperately needed to hear from her Master.

"Isn't it dangerous?" Lolah looked at him blankly, he quickly added, "Her being around Anakin, I mean," that question was playing on his mind and wouldn't give him peace until he got an answer.

"A little bit…but Anakin does love her, he just doesn't know how to show it properly - too much pride. But, she means the world to him – her and Padme – and he only did all this because he didn't know how to live without them; couldn't stand to live in a world where they weren't." She said determinedly "He went to the darkside for her and Padme, if that isn't dedication I don't know what is."

Witt glared at her, as if he was worried that she would betray them to aid the man. "He's still evil."

"I know that." She almost snapped before softening her tone. "But…I do admire his loyalty, you know? What he did was awful and I know that more than anyone, but I also know that he was once a very kind and caring person. But, that was the problem; he was too kind and caring, and it was used against him."

Witt shut his eyes for a few seconds and sighed; he just wanted to sleep and never ever wake. It seemed like so much had happened in such a short amount of time; it felt like the end of the world to him.

"Take down your hood." He said, seemingly randomly. "Please."

"Why?"

"I just wanna see, call it curiosity."

She hesitated. Her entire body stiffened and she looked like a deer in headlights; she hadn't expected this. Sure, she had nothing left to hide but, she hadn't let anyone see her properly in years – her hood was everything to her – and without she felt naked and exposed…it had been so long since someone had looked at her face.

But, how could she deny him without making it look like she was hiding something?

A sigh of resignation echoed for miles and when her hood fell down, Witt only smiled as the stone cold proof for his theory stood in front of him.

"Do you want to know how we met?" She said quietly, wrapping her arms around her thin legs when she drew them up to her. "How I met Anakin Skywalker." Her voice was so soft, yet so loud. "It was so long ago – I was just a little girl – I was just 5 years old, barely toddling." She laughed and smiled fondly. "He must have been 11 or 12. I was in a bit of trouble for wandering the temple at night; my punishment was being put on mail duty for a couple of weeks. It was _awful_…I hated it." She chuckled a little.

Another sigh as she remembered all she'd tried to keep buried. It was easier to hate him when she couldn't remember how kind he had once been. "I had a package to deliver to Master Kenobi; I knocked on the door, he told me to come in and then there he was…sat on the floor with a screwdriver in his mouth, fumbling with some droid. He was a scrawny little thing; all elbows and knees and he hadn't quite figured out how to use his limbs yet – always knocking things over – you wouldn't think it looking at him now, would you?"

Witt snorted. "Definitely not."

She smirked. "All the other Padawans – even some of the Master's – told him that he'd never be anything, that he'd never amount to anything, that he wasn't good enough…" She stood up and walked over to the edge of the building, watching the speeders whiz around like ping-pong balls. "…but, even when I was 5 years old, I knew that he was going to be amazing. So, I watched him from afar, I watched him train with his Master and others his age, and I watched him catch up and outdo all these high-flyers and prodigies, none of them could hold a candle to him in the end…and do you know what he did?"

"No."

She fiddled with her hands out of sheer habit, before a proud tone came out of her mouth. "Anakin Skywalker kept on going; pushing himself to be better and stronger and he worked so hard – always out to gain approval, like he had to prove himself. I didn't see him again for a while; he got a chance to show everyone what he could do and he grasped it with both hands, the temple was alight with rumours about him…how far he'd come."

"That was when the rumours of him being the 'Chosen One' properly flared up." Witt remembered that time, he had been so young and so very curious.

"It was. We met again so many years later, and I won't lie, those time were hard and no-one really knew what the future held, everyone was worried, even him, though he hid it…and Anakin Skywalker did what he does best and he kept striving and he didn't give up; I was in awe. Of course, he had darkness within him – even then – but he fought to suppress it and he did brilliantly…he worked so hard, that's all he's ever done; put his all into everything."

Witt looked confused as to the relevance of all this, he was about to ask her why she was telling him all this stuff – stuff that was obviously difficult for her to talk about – but she shook her head at him and continued…

"I am telling you this for a reason: he was a _good_ man – the best I've ever known – and you should remember that…because when everyone looks back on these events, it will be hard to look past all he's done…but he was the best and he had so much to give…and no-one will ever know that, all they will remember is Vader and the Emperor and the fall of liberty. But just know that it wasn't his fault, he was just as much as victim as any other because what you'll find, with good men, is that they can so easily be used." She gave him a look filled with hardened resolve; it was unsettling to see in the girl. "Witt Sharkey, you remember that Anakin Skywalker was a good man and he tried to do the right things; his heart was in the right place. Remember him as he was, that's what I do…it makes things easier in the long run. Promise."

Witt sat in sad silence as he watched the girl shuddered slightly and wrapped her arms around herself. He couldn't imagine what she was going through; it must be so difficult for her. And, he knew that things weren't going to get better, Anakin wasn't going to miraculously see the light and come back. He knew that Anakin was gone now.

* * *

**Who's excited for season 4?**

**Okay, this whole 'Anakin was the one to mess her up, so he can be the only one to fix her' was just made up recently because I didn't really want to leave their relationship there and sent Anakin packing to Mustafa; I wanted to give them another chance – while Anakin was still mostly him. I think that Anakin is still very much the same man at this point in ROTS, he's just so desperate to save Padme – he can't imagine a world without her – that he forces himself to do all this. I think he would struggle with all he'd done, you don't just change from a good person to a bad one overnight…so I tried to show that.**

**I also think that, when Order 66 was initiated, Anakin wouldn't all of a sudden detest Ahsoka's every cell and want to kill her the second he saw her – that's just my personal opinion. I mean, he went back to normal when he went to visit Padme after the fall of the temple. Star Wars already showed us that love will bring him back so I think that – while Ahsoka isn't enough to bring him back to the light – she is enough to push it back into the recesses of his mind for a short time. Padme is; he loves Ahsoka differently but he still loves her.**

**Anyways, that was me justifying how I've written Anakin in this and the next few chapters; like I said, I think he's only slightly tilted towards the dark side now – there's still light in him…just not enough. **

**Oooh and another note, if you recognise Lolah and realise who she is…try keep it quiet…I want it to be a surprise. I'm trying to keep her identity in the dark until the last possible moment but I will tell you this…Ahsoka knows her, and so does Anakin.  
**

**Please review…I think I may be able to get back into a Saturdays routine now since its summer. Oooh guess what…I failed my exams! I shouldn't be so happy but ah well; the shock and depression will set in later!**


	33. Chapter 33

**I wasn't going to include any of this chapter but I decided that I did need to show that Anakin wasn't a monster…he was just desperate – he did what so many people would do if they were faced with losing all they hold dear. I used this chapter to show how tortured Anakin is by his decision, and how he wished there could've been another way but he doesn't believe there is one.**

**Plus, I'm not sure if I should have Anakin stay dark side-ish or turn back...why don't you guys vote.**

* * *

Chapter 33

He found her in the kitchen, just an hour after their original confrontation. She was leant against the island counter, her back to him and her posture stiff and formal, though, he could see how her muscles tensed in preparation to run, should things get out of control. Anakin sighed to himself; it seemed that nowadays everything was out of control.

He hadn't meant to hurt them; Padme and Ahsoka - doing all this was supposed to prevent that. But…it wouldn't happen again; he promised that to himself. He would protect them…with his life. HE wouldn't let his anger gain the better of him – not around them. He would keep them with him forever.

He picked up a ripe Shuura, tossing it about in his hands to keep himself focused on something; he needed something to distract him because if he started to think and let his mind wander then he would think about what he'd done – all the horror – and he didn't know if he could face up to it, he didn't think he'd be able to keep his stomach calm if he remembered his crimes.

No, he had to keep his mind occupied; keep thinking about something – anything – else.

_Blood_. Anakin's breath caught and his hand shot out and gripped the tabletop, the only thing keeping him standing. _Death_. His hands were clean but they still felt coated with blood; innocent blood spilt by his blade. So much death…so much pain and suffering and it was all by his hands. Anakin looked down at his hands, for a second he could've sworn they were both covered in crimson red blood that spat 'traitor' at him viciously.

When he blinked, they were completely normal; the same as ever – only he could see the horror of what they had done, all the pain and blood that coated them…only he could see it.

He could see so much…he'd done so much. And he would never forget it.

He could still see them all dying; cut down by his own blade. Some of them were friends, people he had talked with, joked with, grown up with.

Then the children-

No! He couldn't do this…he couldn't let himself think about the temple. They had chosen their side, and so had he. He would just keep busy…he'd talk to Ahsoka; keep his mind from wandering.

"Hey." He knew that it was a long shot. He could feel the mistrust and anger swirling around his Padawan. He could felt her downright refusal to acknowledge his existance.

But, these past few years with his Padawan by his side had taught him a thing or two. He'd been the one that spent almost every waking moment with her so that goes to say that he knew a thing or two about teenage girls, and he knew that he had to convince her to talk to him, for she would not talk unless she was good and ready; he just had to speed up the process a little. "Did I ever tell you about Mortis?"

Ahsoka sighed, that was not fair; he knew that she'd been desperate to find out about Mortis for ages, he had never told her what had happened. The last thing she remembered was being on the ship, preparing to leave that odd world…and then it all went blank, the next thing in her memory was awakening to her Master's tight hug, as if he never wanted to let her go – she realised now that he truly hadn't wanted to release her from his arms…he couldn't trust her, not to take care of herself. She saw now that he only believed her to be safe with him...

…he didn't trust her.

Ahsoka sighed and turned her head ever-so-slighty, a sign of her attention being focused on her Master and what he had to say. "No, you didn't."

_Checkmate_. There goes the silent treatment. She didn't think it would've lasted long anyway; her Master had this charismatic flair…no-one could stay mad at him….especially not her. She cared too much. She'd probably never admit it to him – for numerous reason – but she loved him and she respected him above all, how could she stay mad at someone she loved.

"The Son took you…" Anakin continued to turn the fruit over in his hands. "…he didn't want us to leave and he knew I'd come for you – I wouldn't leave – if he took you."

He could see, out of the corner of his eye, the young Togruta perked up a little, excited to hear the story she'd been trying to coerce out of him for months. He wasn't quite so excited to share the tale of the time he'd let her down so awfully; the time he'd let her fall and hadn't been there to catch her…not until it was too late; she already crashed.

He'd been so scared; more scared than he ever thought he could be. His mind had gone into a state of shock and his heart had stopped beating – he swore to this day it had stopped.

He couldn't imagine a world where Ahsoka wasn't; sure he had protested the arrangement at first but, somehow, along the way, Ahsoka Tano had fought for her place in his heart…and she would stay there forever; he would always love her. No matter what came between them; she would always be 'his little Snips'.

Anakin shook his head a little to clear it before he continued. "He turned you…to the darkside. By the time I found you, it was too late. I didn't even recognise you." Anakin took a deep breath. "We fought and…I…it was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do, I knew that I should kill you – you were a Sith, it was as simple as that – it should've been. But…I couldn't. I couldn't do it. I _wouldn't_."

Anakin walked around the counter in the middle of the room, stopping directly in front of her. "I care for you too much, Ahsoka. And, sometimes I get things wrong but…" Anakin sighed wearily, his eyes lost in thought for a few seconds – though they felt like hours. He put a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder hesitantly; as if afraid she would reject the contact, before he continued his story. "After that, the Son came and he killed you." Anakin snapped his fingers. "Just like that." He looked away from the teen for a few moments. "I snapped, I wanted to kill him but he just brushed me away…like a pest and all the while you were lying on the floor, your eyes rolled up into your head – only the whites visible…I could've vomited."

Anakin's eyes glossed over slightly as he went back to that planet, he recalled the events that he had tried so desperately to forget. He'd never forget them, though. Even now, months down the line, they seemed like only yesterday.

"And?" Ahsoka pressed on, Anakin almost laughed at her impatience – no-one would ever question that she was his Padawan.

"And the Son tried to kill the Father with a dagger; he would've succeeded too, had the Daughter not taken the hit, then he fled." Anakin put the fruit back in the exquisite bowl. "The Daughter was dying. You were already long gone but I couldn't - I wouldn't – accept that, how could I? It all happened so suddenly. And I pleaded the Father to help you, I did. But, he could do nothing. In the end it was the Daughter that saved you. Snips, she gave her life to bring you back and to purge the darkness that had infected you."

Ahsoka frowned and looked at him. "She gave her life? For me? Why?"

"I don't know, maybe she saw there was something worth saving." Came his quiet reply as he watched the girl, trying to rid his head of all those awful memories of Mortis. "Anyway, there's a point to that story; a reason why I told you: I'm never gonna give up on you, and I'm always gonna fight for you. I'm trying – I'm trying so hard to fix everything…I just you trust, Ahsoka. Don't you see? It will all work out in the end. When have I ever let you down? I've always fought for you…" Anakin brushed his hair out of his face. "And that's what I'm doing now, I'm fighting for you, for Padme, for the baby…you just need to trust me. Can you do that, Ahsoka? That's all I need: your trust."

"But you aren't telling me _anything_." Ahsoka said, exasperation lacing her annoyed tone. "How can I-I mean…after everything…you just expect me to be okay with that?"

"No, not okay with it…just accept that everything's gonna work out. You know that I'd never do anything to hurt you, Snips…ever."

"But, that's a lie." She was quick to point out something that Anakin was trying to forget; trying to shove behind him and never bring up again. "You hit-"

"I know, I remember…and I can't express how much I deeply regret that...I lost control for just a split second, and that's all it took." She could see it in his eyes; the deep regret. She could almost feel how it ate at his heart, it would hurt them both forever. Her Master would always remember his loss of control and how it had damaged them; they could both feel the mistrust that hung between them, heavier than ever. "I nearly did it again back in the room and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Ahsoka. And, I'm also sorry because I know that what I'm doing is hurting you…but you have to trust that it'll be better in the long run." Anakin sighed slightly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I wish I could say something that would make you trust me, but if you give me a chance, I can prove it to you...I just need your trust, only that."

Ahsoka didn't speak, she just nodded; unable to find her voice…because she was frightened, she was frightened that he would betray her – betray her trust – and she didn't know if she'd be able to handle that again. Deep down she knew that very soon, he's going to prove exactly why she shouldn't ever trust him…and she feared it may kill her.

Anakin walked towards the door but he stopped and turned to face her once more. "I never wanted it to happen like this; I just wanted my family safe but…the dark side…" Anakin bowed his head for a few seconds before raising it once again to look at her, a tortured look playing upon his face. "…it feeds on you, it's like a leech – it infects you – and once it latches on, you can never be rid of it. Just…just…avoid it, or else you'll be like me: lost and too far gone to save."

Ahsoka nearly flinched at how his sunken eyes widened and looked tormented, the dark circles underneath them looked even more pronounced than ever and he looked frightened.

He looked tortured.

"You know that isn't true." She walked around the counter, he brow furrowing. "Look at you now!" She smiled slightly. "You don't look like a Sith. You look like my Master, Anakin Skywalker - the best man I've ever known. And, I haven't seen him in, what seems like, a very long while but he's here, right now. It's never too late, Master. You're good now! See?"

Anakin shook his head at her optimism. How could she not see? Couldn't she see how he was struggling to keep the monster behind closed doors? Couldn't she see how it ripped at him and threatened to destroy the small flicker of good left in him? Didn't she realise how he was so close to losing this battle?

"But for how long?"

"However long you want." She replied quickly, her eyes pleading and wide like a child's. "Master, the dark side can only control you if you let it."

"Ahsoka, I can't keep a handle on it…" He replied, his own eyes wide. "…what if next time I lose control, Padme isn't here to stop me? Ahsoka, what if I hurt you?"

"You won't."

Anakin sighed; his Padawan, ever the boundless optimist. She made it all sound so simple, so ridiculously easy. But, it wasn't like that…it wasn't a lifestyle choice, not anymore. He couldn't be rid of it. "You can't know that."

"I trust you. Isn't that what you wanted?" She had him there.

He ran a hand through his mess of curls; something that was becoming a nervous habit. She wasn't going to give in; she didn't understand that he was lost. He couldn't win here.

"Master, you can fight this; you're strong." It was ridiculous how determined she was, how she would not concede defeat and walk away gracefully. She just ke-etp on going - stubborn to the end - and force only knows where she'd picked up that obstinacy because it did _not_ come from _him_.

Anakin suddenly had a thought – a plan beginning to play out in his mind. It was mad, it was cruel, and it would completely break her once she found out the truth but it would benefit him in the mean time. Oh force, could he do it? Yeah, he could…couldn't he? "Okay." Those two syllable weren't as hard to get out as he thought they would be.

"What?" She hadn't expected him to give in that easily.

"Okay, I said." He forced a smile. Stang, he couldn't believe he was doing this.

"Really?" Her eyes shone brightly with childish innocence; sometimes, it benefited him for her to be so naïve and so…_17_, so full of forgiveness and chances ready to be handed out to every Nick, Jim and Tom.

Anakin tried to force down the guilty bile that had collected in his throat as he thought of how her heart would break when she found out he had lied. "Really." Came his even reply.

"So, everything can go back to normal? We can go back to the temple?"

Oh force, Anakin had forgotten; she didn't know, she hadn't figured out what he had done to the temple yet. She'd been unconscious; she had no idea what he'd done to all those Jedi – all in the name of his family.

She would hate him; it would destroy her.

His voice came across as hoarse as the images of the death and slaughterhouse that was the temple flashed through his mind. "Yeah…we can…soon." They were there: the little children that gathered around him. _'Master Skywalker, there are too many of them. What are we going to do?'_

A little blonde boy, the flicker of hope in his eyes was quickly extinguished – replaced by pure fear – as Anakin lit his lightsaber, it was only when he saw the man's bright yellow eyes that he stumbled back slightly, as if that could save him.

That child morphed into Ahsoka before his eyes, and he continued on and struck her down, ignoring her pain filled cries for him to stop.

'_Master Skywalker, there are too many of them. What are we going to do?'_

"Master?"

Anakin jumped out of his hallucination and stared at the teen for a few seconds. He cleared his throat and turned towards the door. "I have to go." He still had things to do for his Master, the Separatist leaders on Mustafar needed disposing of and…he couldn't bear to look at her anymore. He kept seeing her in the council room amongst those children; he kept seeing himself strike her down.

And…it was killing him.

"Where are you going?" Of course she would follow him.

"I have some errands - I have to end this…" He told the girl. "I need to arrest some of the Separatist leaders and then…everything will go back to as it was. Okay? I need to find them so this can all end, and we can destroy the Sith."

"Wait a minute, you're just going to stroll out, onto the streets, and miraculously know where the leaders are?" It was times like this that he wished he hadn't taught her to be so astute and so ready to question him. "No. There's something you aren't telling me."

"The Chancellor has received intel on where they are." That wasn't entirely false but it was yet another lie, yet another weave, that was tearing them apart.

"What? When? Why did no-one tell me?" Ahsoka looked positively excited. "Can I come?"

"No way." His voice was firm now. "You're staying here, where it's safe."

"But, Master-"

"Ahsoka." A well placed glare and snappy tone was all he needed to shut the child up. "You are to stay here, do you understand? Do not leave this apartment and that is an order."

Ahsoka glared at him, an irritated glare that seemed to pierce him and for a few minutes he thought he was going to have a fight on his hands. The way her lips curled up a little and her teeth automatically set in a growl position; her body tensed and her eyes hardened – it was something he saw a lot of in her, generally out on the field.

He couldn't afford to fight her, he couldn't lose his temper around her…he was dangerous. A few seconds later, a defeated sigh came out of her and she nodded. He glared at and dangerously growled. "Ahsoka. Am. I. Clear?"

"Yes, Master. You're _crystal_ clear." That tone riled him up a little. Since when had his Padawan become such a cheeky, disrespectful little brat.

"Good." She still followed him back out into the main room, her arms followed over her chest and jaw set in uber frustration, starting the little sulk that was guaranteed to last the next few hours. All she needed was the pou-no wait, there it was; the pout.

She was most definitely his Padawan; though, he didn't pout…he only ever brooded – and even then, he did that only a tiny little bit.

'_Master Skywalker, there are too many of them. What are we going to do?'_

Anakin shuddered; jittery. And he had to quench down the rising bile as the little boy asked him again. He had to close his eyes for just a few seconds so that he would stop seeing him everywhere he looked; his limp, slaughtered body was tattooed on his eyes. Oh, what had he done?

'_Master Skywalker, there are too many of them. What are we going to do?' _He didn't ever think he could scrub the blood off of his hands. He didn't think he would ever forget their cries and screams; how they begged and pleaded for mercy.

He'd done all this; he was the reason the galaxy had fallen into a dark, monstrous place. He had fallen into the darkest hole – he'd made his bed there – and the whole galaxy had fallen right alongside him.

"Padme." Anakin walked over to his wife and embraced her again; he looked out the window for a few seconds before he averted his eyes, seeing the billowing smoke from the temple; the last thing he needed right now.

If only there had been another way.

"Ani…what's going on?" Her voice was so quiet; so hesitant. It was as if she wasn't sure whether or not she truly wanted to hear his answer.

"I have received information from the Chancellor; they have located the Separatist leaders and I am to apprehend them." He told the woman, before smiling down at her with confidence he didn't know he had. "Don't worry, my love. Everything will resolve itself."

"Well, where are they? Where are you going? What about-" Padme motioned to her pregnant stomach, her eyes wide and desperate. She didn't think she could do this without him; she didn't think she'd want to.

"I won't miss it. I will not be more than a few days." He replied with a tone so even that it was off-putting; considering all he'd done. "I am to journey to Mustafar, they are hiding there. Take heart, my love, the war is almost over. We've almost won."

Padme's fears weren't completed stilled by Anakin's words, if anything, they were stronger and more potent than ever; she didn't have to be a Jedi to realise that something was very wrong, very wrong indeed. She could tell that they were making their lives – their futures - in the bottom of the blackest hole.

She hugged her husband as much as possible with her huge stomach, she didn't ever want to let go because one question sailed through her mind: would she ever see him again - the proper him, the kind man that she'd married. Would the last little flicker of Anakin Skywalker be extinguished tonight? Who was it that would be coming home to her?

_Was he already gone?_

And the most frightening part was that no-one could answer her questions, no-one could guarantee that her husband would come back the same as he was when he left. Sure, he'd been on dangerous assignments before, but this was different…she just knew it.

When he pulled away, she wanted with all her might to cling onto him and beg him to stay with them but…she knew he wouldn't, she could see it in his eyes and feel it in his breathing – this was something he felt he had to do and nothing would stop him, not even her.

"I shall see you in a few days, Padme." He promised.

Ahsoka's heart ached and the force rumbled anxiously, collecting in pockets around her mentor. She realised something that was sobering and so very hard on her heart; she realised that there was a very good chance that this would be the last time she would see her Master. And, it was almost certain that this would be the last chance to get things out in the air…to tell him everything she'd been too frightened to say.

She didn't want the last exchange they ever had to consist of commands and betrayal and anger. She wanted something good to remember him for…she wanted to remember him as he was; before the last little flicker of that brilliant man was extinguished.

She wanted to remember him as the good man he was.

"Master!" Ahsoka ran over to him and twiddled with her fingers as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say. The words that had been practiced and she'd just formed in her head were slipping away, like trying to catch water with your hands. "I…I just want you to know I'm sorry, for _everything_. You _are_ a great Master, and I should've told you that more and I know that I never really respected you but…I do…so much. I should've let you help me then maybe things would've gone differently. And…" Ahsoka stopped for a few seconds; hesitant and unsure whether or not to continue. "…I need you to know that-"

"I know." Anakin put a hand on her shoulder gently. Anakin couldn't shake the feeling that this was it; this was the end, and they were at the final stretch. All they knew would come falling soon. He could feel them all falling away, lost to him in a sea of darkness - they were swamped in the mess he had caused and...it was killing them; they - his family - were breaking under the strain. And they were slipping away. He'd keep them alive if he only knew how...he would find out how, with his new power he would save them...he had too. He didn't want to live in a world where they weren't - he didn't think he'd be able to stand it. "And…" Anakin wasn't good at expressing emotion with anyone but Padme, but, for some reason, with Ahsoka, he would try. Something told him that he _had_ to do this _now_, and only now.

This was a rare moment for Anakin, one of his less-guarded moments where he briefly allowed himself to express his emotions to someone other than Padme; but…only for Ahsoka, no-one else. "I…I love you too. And, maybe, _I_ should've told _you_ that more often. Then maybe you wouldn't have felt like you had no-one to turn to, maybe they wouldn't have been able to use you." Anakin's eyes hardened. "But they will stand for their crimes. Their time will come. And they will die."

Ahsoka couldn't help but throw herself into his chest, lavishing in the smell and how strong he was – how safe she felt in that moment; she wanted to remember how she felt right then forever so she could recall it when times got rough, use the memory to help her sleep at night; relive it over and over again to calm her fears.

Ahsoka knew - maybe not consciously – but deep down, she knew that she wasn't ever going to see her Master again, not like this. She didn't realise that the next time she saw him, he would only be a shadow of his former self. He'd be gone - lost to her. He wouldn't come back, not for her at least – sure she'd brought him back now...with Padme's help, of course – temporarily, but...she wasn't the one that would bring him back for good. That was someone else's destiny…and she would help them all she could, with everything she had.

After stiffening, and a few moments of hesitation, Anakin hugged her back – it was still foreign to him: Ahsoka being affectionate; she usually shunned all forms of close contact. This was different…but not bad different.

Maybe, if things had of gone differently, he would've seen this side of his Padawan more frequently, _maybe_.

If they hadn't been robbed of their time together and their close relationship hadn't been forced apart, they could've gotten to this point the right way…not just because they were strapped for time, and taking advantage of all they had left, because they _knew_ their time together _was_ coming to an end; only they chose to ignore those warnings in favour of living in ignorance to the future that was finally descending upon them.

Maybe, in another life, he and Ahsoka could've finished her Jedi training and he could've proudly knighted her. They would've stayed close, even after she wasn't his Padawan, he'd make sure of it – he didn't know if he'd ever be ready to let her go. They would've gone on missions, dragging Obi-Wan along too, and they would've been brilliant.

Anakin felt cheated. He knew that future, with him and Ahsoka and Obi-Wan conquering the galaxy as heroes - to be respected...not feared - was gone now. All dreams he had of successfully getting Ahsoka through her trials, and finally feeling equal with Obi-Wan, and spending time on Naboo with Padme and the baby…they were all gone, and the knowledge of that was killing him. When had all his dreams been shattered?

When had _he_ been shattered?

Ahsoka was the one to step back, her eyes woeful and troubled – Anakin realised that she knew so much more than she let on. He wanted to question her but…he couldn't bring himself to, she deserved to be left alone…not pestered by someone that would probably hurt her.

But…he still didn't want to let go of her, of Padme, of all this. Though, Anakin knew that he'd let it all go long ago.

So he did what he did best, he turned around and hide his shame. Then, he walked away, and Ahsoka made the bigger mistake of not trying to stop him.

_He still didn't want to let them go._

* * *

**Like I said at the start, this chapter wasn't going to be included but I do think the movies don't show that Anakin isn't a monster enough. They do a little when he comes back to Padme after falling but I don't think that's enough. Personally, I don't think your alignemnt - dark or light - is like a switch that can be flicked, I still think it takes time for you to properly convert...Anakin has only just started; Padme's death is what properly turns him. But that's just what I think. So, tell me what you think.**

**By the way, sorry about the long wait...no excuse this time, just an apology. Can't promise anything but I will try have the next chapter up next Saturday._  
_**


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Anakin Skywalker stood on the roof of 500 Republica. He wasn't sure why he was here but…he had felt something. The force had urged him to look up here; it had practically begged him. And then there was that feeling; that air hanging about – it was like someone was here, someone he knew but…also…didn't know, if that made sense. A better way to describe the feeling, the strange nagging, was that it was someone he was supposed to know but couldn't put a face to their force signature, not like that made any more sense.

The force signature was a mystery in its own right; it pulsated with energy that radiated around much like his own Padawan's did, but this person was much more reserved in the force. They were Jedi, there was no doubt there, and they were powerful – that too was easy to see. But he felt like those conclusions were only the tip of the iceberg. This person, this enigma, was something so very difficult.

There was another question plaguing him; nagging him and threatening to send him insane – Mustafar could wait - this force signature, it wasn't just that it seemed familiar that unsettled him; it was that he could sense it so easily, he could feel it quite prominently in the force. Not like the thousands of other Jedi – when they used to exist – where he could only sense a small flickering flame of their potential; he could find them if he searched. He could always feel this person…in the back of his mind. He could sense so much from this person.

Anakin leapt across the roof to another, far further than an ordinary person could jump. He landed neatly and looked around; listening to the force as it whispered in his ear, indistinguishable noises that reminded him of running water. The force wanted to tell him something; it wanted him to find something out.

There.

Two silhouettes jumped across rooftops, bouncing on the horizon like bolo-balls on permacrete. They kept looking behind them, having obviously spotted him. Anakin felt the force flash him slightly, urging him to pursue.

Anakin took a running leapt towards a far away rooftop, covering a stretch that took the two figures 3 or 4 leaps to conquer. He kept leaping from rooftop to rooftop, jumping as far and fast as he dared – commanding the force behind his jumps and using it to thrust him through the air.

He needed to catch this pair. If they were Jedi…he would kill them. But, if they were something else, he would investigate and maybe they would be of use to him.

_Power_. The mere thought of it urged him to go faster. He needed power; it was the only way now. He couldn't save people if he wasn't powerful.

* * *

"There's been an attack; the Chancellor is convening an emergency meeting." Padme walked out of the kitchen, to which she had gone to take a call. Her eyes were as frightened as ever and Ahsoka became aware of the fact that the woman wasn't that much older than her for the first time; Padme always seemed so composed and sure, confident to the end, but now she seemed so on edge and worried.

"An attack?" Ahsoka stood from the settee. "On who?" Her eyes widened dramatically and her mind rushed to the worst possible scenario. "Is my Master okay?"

"I haven't heard from Anakin yet." It had been hours since he had left on his assignment to Mustafar. "It's the Chancellor; he claims to have had an attempt on his life."

"What? By who?" Ahsoka jogged up the few steps to the higher level of the room. She waited a few seconds but when Padme didn't reply, her heart sank and something whispered to her; a whisper that promised pain and destruction. "Padme, who tried to kill the Chancellor? Tell me."

"He claims it was an attempt by some of the remaining Jedi."

Ahsoka was just about ready to launch into a tirade and start insulting the Chancellor; she'd never liked the old sleazy man anyway, but one thing made her stop and rethink. Her spine tingled and her heart rate went through the roof as she looked slowly around at Padme. "What do you mean by _remaining_?"

Ahsoka didn't need an answer, somehow she already knew.

Padme stopped too, realising that Ahsoka hadn't yet learnt of her friends' fate. "Ahsoka…I'm so sorry,"

"Padme, tell me."

'_Do it quick, like removing a plaster from a wound.'_ Padme coached herself "They're all gone, the temple was destroyed." Somehow, that plaster stung her too, much more than it should have and, seeing Ahsoka's jaw drop and eyes go blank, made her heart sting even more.

Ahsoka stared blindly for a while before shaking her head, mouthing "no" several times as she wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered on the spot. "But…but…that's not possible." She looked so devastated that Padme could've sworn a large chunk of her heart was ripped to shreds. "I would've felt it. _I would!_ They _can't_ be…gone."

"Ahsoka-"

"It's impossible." Ahsoka nodded to herself and put a smile on her face, her eyes glimmering with hope. "No, you must've heard it wrong_. I'd know_." She grinned wider. "I would. It's alright, it's alright…everything is alright. There's no way-" Ahsoka faltered as she stretched out her senses in the force, attempting to find someone – anyone. But…there was nothing, just emptiness; she couldn't feel _any_ of her friends. Her voice broke as reality came crashing down on her. "Oh, force…Padme, _please_ tell me there's no way. Tell me it's impossible, Padme…_please_."

Padme embraced the teen, wishing she could do more for her. A little part of her choked and died when Ahsoka began sobbing into her shoulder. Ahsoka was a strong girl, the strongest girl she'd ever met and…seeing her like this, it ripped her apart. "Everything's going to be okay." That was a lie, they both knew it…but what else was she to tell the child? How could she tell her that things _weren't_ going to be okay? Ahsoka had already been through so much – too much. She was just a child; she shouldn't be caught up in all this.

"They can't be gone." She whispered into the woman's shoulder. "Padme, they can't…they just can't. No…I can save them, they're not gone yet…I can fix things."

Padme made a quiet shushing noise, not knowing what else to say. This was all so wrong. Ahsoka shouldn't have to worry about protecting others and collateral damage and whether or not she'd be alive tomorrow; she was 17. She should be thinking about studies and friends and parties, not battle strategies…what sort of life was that for a child?

Not for the first time, Padme resented the Jedi. She resented how they could think it was okay to take children and turn them into weapons; how they didn't see a problem with the mentality of their children. It disgusted her sometimes. She trusted the Jedi to do the right thing in the long run but, did she respect them? No. Not anymore, not since she's seen what they do – how they manipulate those around them for their own gain, they did it to them from birth.

Children aren't weapons; they shouldn't be raised as soldiers and put into battle.

Before Padme had met Ahsoka, she had never questioned the Jedi – she'd always assumed that force sensitive children functioned differently than normal ones; they were specifically designed to cope with things that would destroy ordinary kids. The ones raised in the temple were somehow different and could cope; it was a stupid theory but she'd so easily clung onto it, as had the rest of the galaxy. That theory explained why they thrust themselves into battle without a second thought, and how they were prepared to die for their cause…but then she met Ahsoka, and she realised that they were no different…they just didn't have anything to lose; the Jedi made sure of that.

That's what they did, you see. They took them so young, before they had chance to form loyalties. They took them so that all they knew was the order, and therefore there was nothing for them outside of it – that's why so few left; they had nothing else. You take a child, condition it so that all it knows is you and then, automatically, you're all it will be loyal too. So, if you tell that child – command it – to die for you…it would. Because that's how you've raised-…no…_trained_ it to be…like an animal.

That's how they treated the children; like animals to be trained and conditioned.

And it killed her to see Ahsoka be shipped out onto the field, especially after seeing firsthand what she had to deal with. Every time the teen was sent on a mission, a little part of her died, and it never got easier to cope with. Anakin could defend himself, she'd seen entire armies run at the mere mention of his name, she knew Ani would always return to her but Ahsoka…the mere idea of the girl fighting for her life on some hostile world gave her a heart attack.

She cared too much. She loved the girl – she really did – and that's why she swore to herself that she would do whatever was necessary to look after her. She was just so young. And, she might be able to _defend_ herself, but that did not make her ready for all this…it just meant she had the bare minimum to _survive_. But cope? No…she doubted that Ahsoka would be able to cope with any of this.

"Everything will work itself out, you'll see." Padme told the distressed Togruta.

"Will it?" Ahsoka pressed, already knowing the answer. "Will it? How can we recover from this?"

Padme didn't know. How could she possibly give Ahsoka an answer when she didn't know herself? She couldn't even begin to piece together what would happen from then on. How could she reassure Ahsoka when she knew nothing of what was coming? Would everything resolve itself? Would they be safe?

"I don't know but you don't have to worry about anything, let me deal with all this." Padme told her gently. "We just need to have faith and hope that things will get better."

Ahsoka felt ridiculous, she was supposed to be a Jedi but here she was, crying like a little girl. Had the wound not been so sore and raw, Ahsoka would've told herself that, technically, the Jedi didn't exist anymore so really there was nothing left to live up to.

"Don't you need to go to an emergency session?" Ahsoka asked quietly.

"I can stay here."

"No…you can't." Ahsoka was the first to pull away, rubbing at her eyes in embarrassment. She attempted to crack a smile. "I'm good now, I just…it's a lot to take and…I'm fine now. But, you have to go; you could get into trouble for skipping it. And, anyway, we could use someone on the inside – someone keeping informed in what's going on."

Padme looked conflicted for a few minutes; her eyes filling with worry as her mind poured over ever scenario that could happen while she was gone. Every worst-case scenario flickered past her eyes and her breath caught in her throat for the shortest second, Ahsoka was in danger and if she went, all she would be able to think about would be her and whether or not she'd been found and captured, dragged to her execution by some soldiers that didn't know of her immunity.

"Padme, if something went horribly wrong, I don't think it would matter a great deal whether you were here or not." Ahsoka replied in the teasing tone, accompanied with the cocky grin, that she was famous for.

Padme nodded, quickly walking over to grab her purse. "Okay but I'll keep my comm on, and I want you to keep yours with you at all times. If anything goes wrong, contact me, I'll check in with you whenever I can and if anything does go wrong I can be back here in 10 minutes, at a maximum. And Anakin can be over here within a few hours if necessary. And, make sure to keep away from windows just in case anyone recognises you and don't open the door to _anyone_ and-."

"Alright, _mum_." Ahsoka teased, folding her arms over her chest. "Don't worry so much, it's like having Anakin here."

"Ahsoka, I'm not kidding…is it wrong of me to be concerned, especially in times like these?" Ahsoka bit her lip guilty. She had found that Padme had this _beautiful_ ability to knock a person down until they felt like they were 5 years old. Of course, it was only beautiful and amazing until it was used on you. "The Jedi are being hunted down, Anakin has somehow bought you immunity but what if not everyone knows that? Do you think people are going to wait patiently for you to explain it to them?"

Ahsoka's heart dropped as she was reminded of that sobering fact…all her friends…gone. And…she had been sleeping, what good was she? All hell was breaking loose across the galaxy and she had been taking a nice kip, what sort of Jedi did that? She refused to accept the fact that she'd been hurt; that was no excuse. It all boiled down to the fact that they had needed her, and she'd called it in for the night when it had mattered most.

"Ahsoka." Padme was directly in front of her again. "Are you okay?"

Ahsoka's blinked to clear her misty eyes. "Yeah, fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're a terrible liar, I suppose that's a good thing…makes it easier for me. No wonder Anakin always knows how you're feeling; all he has to do is read that book you call a face." Padme added to her teasing by tapping the teen's nose.

"Hey." Ahsoka cocked her head. "I'm not that easy to read.

"You are, my dear. You are." Padme put a hand on her bony shoulder and smiled sadly; obviously, the clearly overworked girl was struggling. Anyone could see that she wasn't coping with the strain she was under. "Get some food and please get some _sleep_; you look like you need it."

"Oh thanks, my confidence has gone through the roof; you should take up counselling." Clearly, the strain she was under had no effects on the part of her brain that controlled her sarcasm.

Padme raised an eyebrow delicately. "It's good to see your sarcasm isn't in tatters."

"Down but not out." Ahsoka shrugged in a blasé manner, giving Padme the overconfident smirk she was known for; though a flicker of sadness lingered in her big blue eyes.

* * *

Now that Ahsoka was alone, she had nothing to distract her from gazing out at the burning mess that used to be the Jedi Temple. It was so awful. Ahsoka balled her fist up. She should've been there, she should've stopped them.

How could the clones turn against them? How could the entire Republic sit by and let this happen? After all they had done for the galaxy they all just continued on…not caring?

What had gone wrong?

Ahsoka found herself contemplating her Master? What did he have to do with all this? Somehow, she sensed he'd managed to get himself right in the middle of events but to what extent? And why had she sensed so much _guilt_ from him? Sure, she sensed that he regretted losing his temper around her but there was so much more, she sensed a sea of pain and guilt and she believed she had only skimmed the surface with him. Something was terribly wrong…but what? What had he done?

Her Master had said that the Chancellor had sent him to Mustafar but…wasn't the Chancellor the one that was in charge of the clones – clones that had gone all rogue on them. On whose authority had they attacked? The only person with more authority over the clones than the Jedi was the Chancellor. But, what did he gain from eliminating the Jedi? Surely, he needed them…they were the ones that defended his 'oh-so-precious' Republic.

But…that would explain why the Jedi attacked the Chancellor.

Ahsoka stood and began pacing as the pieces of the puzzle fitted together in her mind, her eyes closed and she solely concentrated on the events of the last day or so and all she had learnt. If the Chancellor ordered the destruction of the Jedi, then any of them left over would deem the Chancellor a threat and organise a mission to take him out. _Yes, that made sense_. If they failed, then the Chancellor would have enough evidence to publically condemn them and therefore make himself look like a victim. Then, there would be little difficulty criminalising the Jedi and rationalising their eradication.

Ahsoka's eyes flew open and she looked towards the Temple, it all added up – it all fitted. Except for one tiny little detail: how had the Chancellor survived the assassination attempt? And come to think of it, that one question made her begin to question her theory all together; more and more questions began to pop up.

Why did the Chancellor organise the attack in the first place? Which Jedi had gone to assassinate him and why did they not simply arrest him? They would not have gained much favour in the Republic if they simply executed its figurehead. Why didn't they capture and attempt to trial him? Why were they so desperate to kill him? What was so urgent that they'd ignore protocol?

* * *

It was almost twilight when Padme returned; the sky was ablaze with the twinkling headlights of speeders and there was a sea of neon lights and flashing attractions down below, enticing the travellers down into its depths.

Everything had gone horribly at that meeting. The Chancellor had declared the Jedi traitors – they were to be hunted down – and he had then gone about disbanding the Republic and reorganising the remnants into the 'first Galactic Empire', which was all she had tried to prevent. The idea of all that was to come frightened her, this Empire – dominated by own person – could bring nothing but destruction to their lives. And, even more prominently, she feared for her husband and Ahsoka. They were Jedi and their fates were uncertain, what would become of them? Would they be tracked and hunted like Palpatine said? Surely not, Anakin had said he was working for the Chancellor now…but what of Ahsoka? How far did Anakin's free pass for her extend? For how long did it last?

If necessary, Padme was willing to uproot her life here on Coruscant and move back to Naboo with Anakin and Ahsoka. The Lake House was deserted and isolated – perfect for those in hiding - it would serve them well if needs be. She and Anakin had already talked about moving back there in preparation for the baby. She knew that that course of action was on the table for their safety, at the minute. Bu,t what worried her was thinking about why they were necessary. What did Palpatine hope to achieve by destroying the Jedi?

When she walked into the sitting room, the sight to meet her eyes made her smile. It looked like Ahsoka had taken her advice. The teenager was splayed – spread eagle – across the long settee, her limbs dangling over it in awkward positions and her mouth open in a slight 'o' shape.

At least one of them could get some sleep; she had a feeling it would evade her no matter how hard she tried - her heart was too riddled with woe.

She draped a light blanket over the slumbering girl before watching her for a few minutes, her eyes twinkling slightly as the girl's chest rose and fell. After a few minutes, she retreated to her room, and then, and only then, did she allow herself to cry, for all she feared was to come and attempt to rip them all apart. She couldn't bare to lose her family...she couldn't. She didn't think she'd survive it.

* * *

Ahsoka shot up, her heart pounding and her head spinning as her senses went overboard. She squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds before opening them and sliding off of the couch, keeping low and agile in case of a fight. She moved slowly and stiffly through the apartment, heading towards the 2nd sitting room with the landing platform.

She dived behind a settee before slowly peering over it, her senses were on red alert at the minute and her eyes struggled to pinpoint what had driven her force senses mental. But there was something out there – a shadow – and it was moving.

"Ahsoka." The teenager jumped slightly before slowly standing.

"Alex?" Ahsoka's voice shook a little as she watched a figure walk towards her.

Alex gave her a toothy grin before cheekily remarking. "Who else? Did ya' miss me?"

"You son of a bantha." She threw at him unexpectedly, swinging her right fist at him when he was close enough. The boy didn't have enough time to duck and her fist connected with his face with a loud 'crack' and he was send crashing to the floor, for a few moments he thought she had broken his face.

"What do you think you are doing?" He groaned as he attempted to stand, his legs wobbling a little from the shock. He gingerly touched the eye that was aching like mad and, no doubt, turning purple as they spoke. The boy cursed and looked up at Ahsoka. "What was that for?"

"How could you leave us like that? After all we've done for you..." Ahsoka hissed, struggling to restrain herself from socking him again. "Where the hell have you been?" Ahsoka kicked him, albeit with a little less force and a little less anger. "The one time I need you and you're nowhere to be found. Where were you? Everything has gone to hell and you were on a _vacation_?"

"This wasn't _my_ fault." He stood slowly, putting a hand to his eye. "How could I have helped?"

"You could've been there for me!" Ahsoka spat, balling her fist again and Alex stumbled back a bit in anticipation of another attempt at his face. "I needed you; you're my best friend and I needed you to do your job and help me."

"I'm sorry, but you know there was nothing I could do…I couldn't have been any use."

His apology did nothing to abate her raging anger. "I was in a coma! _A coma_. Okay, I could've _used_ you during that. And, even worse…the only person who bothered to help me was the most obnoxious pig of my age. What does that say about you as a friend? Why is it that you're never there when it counts? You absolute bantha!"

Alexander smirked cockily at her annoyed tirade, his eyes twinkling as he watched her pace and rant. He'd let her blow off steam a little. By force, it looked like she needed it.

It seemed like hours had passed before he dared even look at her, it was a wonder she hadn't woken up Padme by now. In fact, it was a wonder she hadn't woken half the building by now – never mind Padme.

"Did you miss me?" He kept that oh-so-cocky smile on his face, even when she glared at him.

"Yes." She replied quickly before her face broke out into a relived smile and she approached him. "You're so very late, I needed you here days ago...but…I'm glad you're here now. Better late than never."

"Thanks." Alexander caught his best mate in a tight hug and laughed a little; this was so typically Ahsoka: being temperamental one minute and then the next being all…clingy and friendly again.

"2 days ago would've been good too." She couldn't stop the quip

"Terrorists don't work to your calendar but I will send them a memo outlining when they can and can't...terrorise, you know, for next time."

"Oh, shut up you idiot." She couldn't have given him a higher compliment in his opinion. What was friendship without a healthy dose of banter?

For the first time in a while, it truly looked like things might be okay. Of course they weren't okay right that moment, but Ahsoka could dare to hope that maybe, with a bit of time and patience, things would go back to being okay.

* * *

**Here it is. I sincerely doubt next Saturday will get an update; I haven't even started the next chapter yet. I still don't know where to take it…I have a general idea but need to make sure all the ends tie up nicely. If you have noticed any ends I need to tie up drop a note, I want to make sure I get everything.**


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Alexander and Ahsoka spoke in hushed whispers, the former with his arms folded over his chest and a weary expression on his face. It had been a long couple of months; it had been a rough couple of months. Sometimes, it felt more like years.

When Padme walked quietly into the room – having being woken by the commotion that had being taking place - not that she'd been sleeping particularly restfully anyway; there was far too much to worry about.

The pair didn't even notice her come to sit on the settee and watch them. It was only when she quietly coughed, to garner their attention, did they both spin round, poised for action.

"Padme?" Ahsoka put a hand to her head. "I'm so sorry, we must've woken you. I didn't-"

Padme cut through what would've been a very long apology. "It's fine; I wasn't having a particularly restful sleep anyway." She looked at Alexander with raised eyebrows, before turning back to Ahsoka and inclining her head at the boy.

Ahsoka took the hint. "Oh, right…sorry. Padme, this is my friend; Alexander. He was a-" Ahsoka frowned for a few seconds before turning to her friend. "What do you do exactly? I'm guessing 'Jedi reject' isn't the official name." She couldn't resist trying to rile him up.

"I work with the Jedi as an intelligence agent; scouting, recon and just generally gathering intelligence. I go wherever I'm assigned." He explained in a bored voice; this wasn't the first time he'd explained his work to Ahsoka. He did a double-take, remembering one particular comment the girl had said. "…and, I wasn't _rejected_…I just didn't join."

Ahsoka scowled at him with complete disbelief and scoffed. "Shut up. You didn't join because you knew you'd be rejected; you're too old."

"Your freaking school of witchcraft and wizardry would be lucky to have me." He intoned in a growl-like tone whilst giving her an equally dark scowl. "Anyway, I'm guessing that, since they accepted you, the standards are quite low and they'll have anything that walks in from the street."

"Oh force…" Ahsoka sighed and rolled her eyes in an over dramatic fashion. "…I missed _this_? What was I thinking wanting you back?"

"Oh, come off it…you know you hated it without me."

Ahsoka leered at him, baring her teeth a little bit. "It was awful; it was almost like having you here."

"Yeah? Well…you can shut up."

"Awwhhh…" Ahsoka taunted playfully. "…no snappy comebacks. Alex, my dear, you are losing your touch. Have you seriously got nothing to say?"

Alexander shrugged and threw, "Well, I now know why some animals eat their own children", at Ahsoka with such pleasantness that it contradicted the insult that accompanied it.

"That's my pigeon." Ahsoka smiled proudly.

Padme frowned for a few seconds, collecting her thoughts and summarising the new information she had received before choosing to speak, all too happy to cut off the pair's bantering before it went too far. "Since you're a Jedi agent, does that mean you're being hunted down too? Or, are you on the Clones side?" Padme looked ready to jump into action, despite the fact she resembled a planet.

"Nah, he works for the Jedi so they'll be looking for him." Ahsoka gestured to her friend. As if he'd be with the clones, he wouldn't betray her like that. Even if he wanted to, he didn't have the cunning and subtlety to pull it off. She didn't know who came up with the bright idea of using him as an espionage agent.

"And, that's where you are wrong." Alexander chimed gleefully, as if mocking Ahsoka for being the only one in the room that was being hunted. "I'm an independent agent; I only associated myself with the Jedi. I don't work for them so they probably won't be that bothered about me. And…" He looked positively excited at the next part. "I technically don't exist in your Republic; no-one ever saw fit to put me on your database – no record of me exists anywhere."

Ahsoka glowered and looked furious for a few seconds. How was it that he managed to avoid being implicated but everyone else was dead? She couldn't understand it. How could someone have a grudge on just the Jedi? What had they ever done but try to help?

"Don't you want to know what I was doing?" Alexander said in a sing-song voice, but he already knew the answer that his overly curious friend would give. "Where I've been all this time? Oh, come on…you do. You are itching to know what dragged me away from Coruscant. I can see it in your eyes; little 'Soky 'Soka Tano, the little girl with too much curiosity. Oh come on, it's killing you – it's driving you mad. Don't you wanna know?"

Ahsoka snapped, irritated at how he was attempting to make her plead him for the information. "Well, go on…spit it out since you're obviously dying to."

"I was investigating your little friends." He smiled in such a proud manner. "Boy, have they been making plans lately." Seeing Ahsoka's blank look, Alexander continued in a very slow and clearly enunciated tone in order to make Ahsoka feel as stupid as he possibly could. "Keep up, Tano. I was out in the big wide galaxy, getting Intel on Vipera – you know those lovely chaps that just can't keep away from your…_desirable_ presence."

Ahsoka felt like she should've cottoned on to that a lot sooner. With wide eyes, she asked. "Did you find out anything?"

Alex sighed and breathed out his annoyance, resisting the urge to insult her; it wouldn't do getting into a fight with her…no, not after last time; now he thought about it, they'd never actually apologised for breaking that statue in the museum, had they? "Of course, I found something – why else would I bring it up?" Alex gave her a look that showed her seriously questioned her intelligence, or lack thereof. "Right, well…they've been awfully quiet lately, don't you think? Yeah, well they've almost got all they need to make this work."

"What work? Alex, what are they doing?"

"You need to understand their history first." He said in all seriousness.

The young man pulled his datapad out of his backpack, typing into it for what seemed like an eternity before staring at the screen, reading the information for what seemed like the 50th time; it just didn't seem right! How could they have not noticed, how hadn't they recognised them – the way they were behaving and their means. They should have, because this had happened before – a long time ago – they had used people, specifically children, even more specifically: Jedi children - before for the exact same goal. Only, back then – all those years ago – they had failed.

But why?

"You think you know them; you think you know what they are and what they do…but you have no idea, Ahsoka." Alex warned her before sitting down on the settee and staring at her with hard eyes. "You should've never gotten involved with them"

"What have you found?" Ahsoka asked in a clipped tone.

Alex stared her down for a few moments before speaking. "They're as old as the order itself, Vipera is just a new name they've started using since they've begun this latest project."

"And what exactly would that be?" She was beginning to get impatient; he was just dodging around all the important facts.

"All in good time." He chided. "They're made up of mostly rejects from the order. Those that have been exiled, those rejected from training for various reasons – age, too much fear, the angry children – and those that left of their own free will. They banded together an age ago with one goal: to usurp the order. Of course, that goal never came to fruition, as you can see the order is – or was – perfectly fine."

Ahsoka flinched slightly at the mention of the Jedi destruction, her eyes flickered subconsciously to the window and where the smoke still billowed. She could still see it, and her mind's eye could see the bodies that piled as high as the sky. She loathed how Alex talked about in a such a blasé manner, like it was completely normal.

"The name 'Vipera' comes from the genus of venomous vipers. They call themselves that due to the fact that they use the venom of these vipers as means of disposing of targets. Not too unusual, I know…but there's more" Alexander paused for a few moments to let the words sink in. "It took me months to dig up information on them. They go back about 4 years then they just vanish – no records of them after that, none of them show up on records…they disappear. Odd, don't you think? So I did some cross-referencing and pulled some strings; banked some favours. Did you know that 'Vipera' were once called 'Grigori'?"

Ahsoka shook her head and mouthed 'no'.

"Well they used that name years back, long before you were a Padawan. They went by that name for a couple of years – it was supposed to represent the fact that they were fallen angels or something; cast from grace. Perhaps to do with their history with the Jedi and that half of them were rejected. But even then, they vanished – no records of them anywhere if you look further back than 10 years or so. But…I did more digging and they had another name before Grigori, ever heard of Lamashtu?"

Ahsoka's eyes widened to the size of saucers as she let the words sink in. Her jaw trembled slightly and she mouthed 'no' so quietly that it could hardly be called a whisper.

"I take it you've heard of them?" He thought she would have, they were quite high-profile once upon a time.

She had heard of Lamashtu – of course, she had. She remembered being so very young and being so very scared just by the mere mention of the name. She remembered the teenaged Padawans – bored and with nothing to do – coming and telling them how Lamashtu would come in the dead of the night and snatch them.

Yes, she knew of Lamashtu, alright. It was the scary story told in the crèche by the older Padawans; every youngling grew up on stories of the myths and legends of that terrible demon. Every youngling lost many a night's sleep trembling under their quilts and watching the door for fear that, if they took their eyes of it, Lamashtu would come and seize them from their beds.

All legends were based on truth. Lamashtu had been proven to be more than a demon, it had been proven to truly exist. The child snatcher, specifically preying on Jedi children. No-one ever saw it. No-one ever even caught a trace of it. The kids it took never resurfaced. Every youngling in the temple was terrified that the monster would awaken from it's hiding and come for them.

"Ahsoka?" That was Padme, she felt the older woman put her hand on her shoulder but her mind was racing.

She watched the boy with wide eyes and choked out. "But...Lamashtu is gone, nobody's heard of it for almost 5 centuries."

"No. Not gone, just patient."

"But even if it were true. Even if Lamashtu was back." Ahsoka began pacing and folded her arms over her chest, she looked at Alex and pointed. "_It's not, though_." She continued her pacing. "Even if its back. It doesn't matter – it's not relevant. The story of 'Lamashtu' was a long time ago and…it was just one person – one guy with a taste for kids. I don't know if you've noticed but Vipera is an entire organisation!"

"Lamashtu wasn't just one person; they just wanted you to think that. They named themselves after the ancient demon and then changed their name when they needed to hide."

"That name is familiar." Padme mumbled absentmindedly. "Is that from a story?"

Ahsoka felt the need to explain the first recording of the name Lamashtu; a tale used nowadays to frighten younglings – one of those spooky stories that people told around campfires. "There was a demon from centuries – before even Master Yoda – called Lamashtu and he-." Ahsoka froze as her mind made the link.

"Exactly." Alex commended the girl.

"Oh, force."

"What?" Padme put a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder in a comforting gesture again. "Ahsoka, what's wrong?"

"The demon took children and…fed off them." Ahsoka looked up suddenly and asked the question she hadn't wanted to ask. "They're carnivores?"

"No. Not exactly." Alexander took a few moments to compose himself. "When you're taken, when you think that no-one is coming and that you've been left to fate, you lose the thing that makes you who you are: your hope. Without hope, a person is…nothing; they're numb and…broken. When they take the kids, they always take the more vulnerable ones…the ones that aren't sticklers to the rigid code…and they break them."

"But…why?" Ahsoka asked, confused.

"Once they stop opposing them and give up fighting, they can be…_fixed_." Alexander spat out the disgusting term the organisation used to describe what they did to the children. "They identify the children they can use, they then threaten them with all they care for so they help them…and then…then they destroy the things they love, and they destroy that child."

"Alex." Ahsoka said firmly."What. Do. They. Do?"

"I don't quite know how they do it but…they change the kids…they _fix_ them. They find a way to damage their minds, and alter their personalities and beliefs; they warp every little part of their mind and destroy all they used to be. Then they make them loyal to only them. They warp them to believe in nothing but them. They turn them into merciless psychopaths; the perfect little agents that come pre-trained and deadly, and…now they're working on some sort of gene slicing. Where they can alter children's genes to make them smarter and stronger and faster – because you're young, there's a much higher chance of the alterations being successful and the body not rejecting them. Can you imagine what they'd do with 10 altered kids? What about 100? They'd destroy us all."

"And there's more." She could see it in his eyes.

Alexander took a deep breath before continuing. "It's experimental technology. It's never worked before…they keep trying and testing it on anyone they can…but they all died. They have some sort of machine – they call it Tabula arch – and it invades the brain so forcefully and powerfully that, every time they have used it, the person they're using it on has died from the trauma." The next part was the hardest part. "Our reports said they last tried to work the machine yesterday…on a young girl; Briseis Senfora."

Ahsoka's stomach clenched again, painfully and nauseatingly. "No."

"The technology doesn't work yet. We don't even have any idea what it's supposed to do. It could be designed to rip worlds apart, or disintegrate matter."

This was all her fault. She should've tried harder, she could've saved her.

"There'll be little left of her now."

Hearing that, Ahsoka had to sit down, and she did think of all that had come to pass. The things that were her fault entirely, and the things that were only slightly her fault; all of them stung like fresh wounds and like fire that licked at her skin mercilessly, torturing her every move. It was like, every time she breathed, she felt a brand new hole being forged in her chest. Simply because she breathed, and so many others didn't anymore…because of her; because she wasn't fast enough, because she wasn't strong enough, because she didn't save them, because she was unconscious – there were so many reasons why the blame could sit with her. But the biggest one – the one that hurt the most – was because she was just Ahsoka Tano; she was no-one special, she wasn't going to do anything worthwhile because…she was just a kid.

* * *

_Ahsoka's stomach plunged deep and hard when the scolding heat hit her. The small cinders and smoulders of ash singed her skin and clothes…but she didn't care. All she could focus on was how her heart was beating so hard and loud that she feared it may burst out of her chest. All she could hear was the dull roar of everything rushing around her, and she was staying still. All she could see was stretches of burnt and decimated ground, glowing fiery lava flows breaking up the mass of brown every now and again._

_This…she…no…how could she be here? The dreams were over. They were supposed to be over. But…oh, force; she didn't think she could cope with these right now, not with everything else that was going on._

_Ahsoka couldn't help the quiet whine that broke through her lips, rebelliously rumbling in the back of her throat. Her shoulders heaved and she felt her heart shattering as the sizzling planet appeared to tease her; tease her about what was about to happen._

_She couldn't will herself to move, no, not when she knew exactly what she would find; exactly what she would see. She couldn't bear it. She feared that seeing this now, might just destroy the last of her resolve, she might just lose the last flickers of her hope, the hope that kept her fighting and striving to look for the light._

"_It's over, Anakin." Ahsoka felt the bile rising and her legs moved of their own accord, despite her desperate attempts to dig her heels into the loose ground. "I have the high ground."_

"_NO." Though she appeared to not be in control of her legs, her mouth appeared to work fine. "MASTER DON'T." She screamed for all she was worth, but, deep down, she knew it would change nothing._

_She stumbled over the brow of the hilly mount of ash and debris, and she could see them now. Her Master was stood on the small hovering platform, holding his blue lightsaber with such a tight grasp she could practically see his whitening knuckles from there._

_She knew what would happen next._

"_MASTER." Her voice broke into a high-pitched wail as she screamed. "STOP. Stop. Oh force, please stop. Stop it."_

_Ahsoka could almost see his gleaming yellow eyes from where she should; the eyes that haunted her, the eyes that spoke of death and hatred and despair – now more than ever._

"_You underestimate my power." Her Master's hoarse voice rumbled for miles with those four words that would condemn him, the four word that would make him jump._

"_Don't do it." Ahsoka screamed at the same time as Obi-Wan warned Anakin: "Don't try it."_

_Ahsoka screamed and so did Anakin._

"_No." Ahsoka put her hands to the sides of her head and hunched over slightly, not sure if she would vomit or not. Her head pulsated in accordance with her Master's cries of pain. "No, please. Not again."_

_Ahsoka wobbled shakily on her legs for a few seconds before racing over to the bank where the two former best friends were, one writhing and burning on the soil and the other watching in almost as much pain._

_She knew they couldn't see her; she was like an apparition – an invisible spirit, if you will – but she couldn't help but keep begging. "Help him. Someone…please. Master Kenobi…help. Help him."_

* * *

Ahsoka shot up out of her dream, faster than one would've thought possible. She sat so very still and breathing so loudly it was a wonder no-one had awoke. She looked around frantically before slowly lying back down; her heart still hammering against her ribcage.

That future seemed so likely now.

Ahsoka had wondered, so long ago; back before all the death and the treason and the destruction; she had wondered if maybe her interactions and associations with Vipera were at all connected to her Master's fall – she thought they were, they had to be. Those two events couldn't be separate anymore; they crossed paths so many times. She thought that maybe if she stopped the organisation, she could save her Master.

But she was wrong.

And she right.

They were linked – she was right to assume it – but the way they were linked was so different to what she had guessed, she was wrong to assume that the organisation were the ones that made him fall. No, they weren't too bothered about him; he was just another Jedi they wanted to get back at.

Ahsoka was wrong because she had assumed that maybe they caused her Master to fall, maybe they managed to blackmail him too…eventually.

But that wasn't the reason…

…she was.

The two events were linked because of her. Allowing herself to be blackmailed had put strain on her, and therefore it had caused her Master so much stress then he could cope with; it put yet another burden on him and he just didn't know how to fix things; he wouldn't ever ask for help – he was easy pickings after that.

So, now she knew…she understood now; she understood that she was the reason for her Master's fall, it was all her – forget the dark side and Sith and his fallings out with the council - she was the one that had forced him away. And she hadn't even realised it. She'd pushed him away by trying to keep him safe. And she would never forgive herself for it.

**Yeah. I know. I'm a twat. And I can't promise a quick update but it shouldn't take as long as this one did. Anyone feel like reviewing?**


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